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THE ROYAL CAROLINE STILL CONTINUED DRIFTING BEFORE THE WIND, A SHORN AND NAKED WRECK 11 — PAGE 239 










/lDobawk Bftition 


THE WORKS 

OF 

James Fenimore Cooper 

THE RED ROVER 



G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS 

NEW YORK LONDON 

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W. B. SHUBRICK, ESQUIRE 


U. S. NAVY. 


In submitting to your notice, dear Shubrick, this hastily composed 
and imperfect picture of a few scenes peculiar to the profession, I 
trust much more to your kind feelings than to any merit in the 
execution. Such as it may be, however, the book is offered as another 
tribute to the constant esteem and friendship of 


The Author 




PREFACE. 


S MOTLETT had obtained so much success as a writer 
of nautical tales, that it probably required a new 
course should be steered in order to enable the suc- 
ceeding adventurer in this branch of literature to 
meet with any favor. This difficulty was fully felt when 
this book was originally written, and probably has as much 
force to-day as it had then, though nearly a quarter of a 
century has intervened. 

The history of this country has very little to aid the writer 
of fiction, whether the scene be laid on the land or on the 
water. With the exception of the well-known, though 
meagre incidents connected with the career of Kidd, indeed, 
it would be very difficult to turn to a single nautical occur- 
rence on this part of the continent in the hope of conferring 
on a work of the imagination any portion of that peculiar 
charm which is derived from facts clouded a little by time. 
The annals of America are surprisingly poor in such events ; 
a circumstance that is doubtless owing to the staid character 
of the people, and especially to that portion of them which 
is most addicted to navigation. 

These difficulties were duly appreciated by the writer of 
this book, who found it necessary to invent his legend with- 
out looking for the smallest aid from traditions or facts. 
There is no authority whatever for any incident, character, 
or scene, of the book now offered to the reader, unless nature 
may be thought to furnish originals, in a greater or less 
degree, to some of the pictures. 

A good deal of speculation has been resorted to by differ- 


IV 


preface 


ent writers, in order to discover the history and uses of the 
little stone ruin in which one of our incidents is laid. Those 
who are not content to accept of a simple solution of this 
antiquarian problem, have assailed the irreverent manner in 
which we have termed it a mill, and have claimed for the 
little structure an original as remote as the times of the 
Northmen who are supposed to have preceded Columbus in 
his voyage to this western hemisphere. We pretend to no 
exclusive knowledge on the subject, never having seen this 
much-talked-of ruin but once, and then only in a hurried 
visit of a single half hour. It must be confessed that it 
struck the writer as the very obvious remains of a windmill, 
and as nothing else ; though there may be better reasons 
than any he can give to the contrary for supposing it to 
have been erected as a fortress several centuries ago. We 
can imagine the use in placing a mill on arches, as it is a 
very simple process, and one often had recourse to, in order 
to prevent the ravages of the mice ; but it is not so easy to 
see why the extra labor of forming arches, the loss of room, 
and the additional risk from fire, should all be voluntarily 
incurred to raise up a fortress against savages. Under no 
circumstances, it would seem, could such a tower be less 
expensive, less difficult to construct, and less secure, by 
building it up as a solid structure from the ground, than by 
raising it in the air, on senseless because useless pillars, as 
must have been the case, if we are to suppose the building 
to have been erected for purposes of defence. The lower 
apartment, which, on this antiquarian theory, would be 
thrown away, might have been of great daily utility, as it 
certainly would have added to the strength of the tower ; 
thus reducing these poor Northmen to the dilemma of hav- 
ing it inferred that their intelligence was of so low a stamp 
as to lead them to expend their time and labor in raising an 
elaborate structure that would be less likely to effect all their 
objects than one much more simple. 

We trust this denial of the accuracy of what may be a 
favorite local theory, will not draw down upon us any new 
evidence of the high displeasure of the Rhode Island His- 
torical Society, an institution which displayed such a mag- 


preface 


V 


nanimous sense of the right, so much impartiality, and so 
profound an understanding of the laws of nature and of 
the facts of the day, on a former occasion when we incurred 
its displeasure, that we really dread a second encounter with 
its philosophy, its historical knowledge, its wit, and its 
signal love of justice. Little institutions, like little men, 
very naturally have a desire to get on stilts ; a circumstance 
that may possibly explain the theory of this extraordinary 
and very useless fortification. 

We prefer the truth and commonsense to any other mode 
of reasoning, not having the honor to be an Historical Society 
at all. That which we have elsewhere written, and in a 
graver capacity, we think has been triumphantly vindicated ; 
and we have given our reasons here for disbelieving the 
theory of the citadel of the Northmen. If others prefer to 
tilt with a windmill, we commend them to their own gal- 
lantry and the sympathy of Sancho Panza. Thank Heaven ! 
we have never published anything which involves the neces- 
sity of believing that four vessels, with their top-sails aback, 
drifted round the whole earth in two hours and a half, in 
straight lines, regardless of islands and continents ; which 
creates the necessity of supposing that a crippled craft will 
drift to windward ; or have asserted that any particular 
battle, the property of the whole nation, belongs to “the 
naval annals of New York.” They who have maintained 
these historical and philosophical tours de force , are quite 
right to top off their mental labors by maintaining that the 
“ Newport Ruin ” was a dwelling of the Caesars 


Cooperstown, January i, 1850. 





THE RED ROVER. 


CHAPTER I. 

“ Par. Mars dote on you for his novices.” 

Airs Well that Ends Well. 

N O one who is familiar with the bustle and activity 
of an American commercial town, would recog- 
nize, in the repose which now reigns in the 
ancient mart of Rhode Island, a place that, in its 
day, has been ranked amongst the most important ports 
along the whole line of our extended coast. It would seem, 
at the first glance, that nature had expressly fashioned the 
spot to anticipate the wants and to realize the wishes of the 
mariner. Enjoying the four great requisites of a safe and 
commodious haven, a placid basin, an outer harbor, and a 
convenient roadstead, with a clear offing, Newport appeared 
to the eyes of our European ancestors designed to shelter 
fleets, and to nurse a race of hardy and expert seamen. 
Though the latter anticipation has not been entirely disap- 
pointed, how little has reality answered to expectation in 
respect to the former ! A successful rival has arisen, even 
in the immediate vicinity of this seeming favorite of nature, 
to defeat all the calculations of mercantile sagacity, and to 
add another to the thousand existing evidences that “the 
wisdom of man is foolishness.” 

There are few towns of any magnitude, within our broad 
territories, in which so little change has been effected in 
half a century as in Newport. Until the vast resources of 


i 



2 


XTbe 1 Reb IRover 


the interior were developed, the beautiful island on which 
it stands was a chosen retreat for the affluent planters of 
the south, from the heats and diseases of their burning 
climate. Here they resorted in crowds to inhale the in- 
vigorating breezes of the sea. Subjects of the same govern- 
ment, the inhabitants of the Carolinas and of Jamaica met 
here in amity, to compare their respective habits and poli- 
cies, and to strengthen each other in a common delusion, 
which the descendants of both, in the third generation, are 
beginning to perceive and to regret. 

The communion left, on the simple and unpractised off- 
spring of the Puritans, its impression both of good and evil. 
The inhabitants of the country, while they derived from the 
intercourse a portion of that bland and graceful courtesy for 
which the gentry of the southern British colonies were so 
distinguished, did not fail to imbibe some of those peculiar 
notions concerning the distinctions in the races of men for 
which they are no less remarkable. Rhode Island was the 
foremost among the New England provinces to recede from 
the manners and opinions of their simple ancestors. The 
first shock was given through her, to that rigid and ungra- 
cious deportment which was once believed a necessary con- 
comitant of true religion, a sort of outward pledge of the 
healthful condition of the inward man ; and it was also 
through her that the first palpable departure was made from 
those purifying principles which might serve as an apology 
for even more repulsive exteriors. By a singular combina- 
tion of circumstances and qualities, which is however no less 
true than perplexing, the merchants of Newport were be- 
coming, at the same time, both slave-dealers and gentlemen. 

Whatever might have been the moral condition of its 
proprietors at the precise period of 1759, the island itself 
was never more enticing and lovely. Its swelling crests 
were still crowned with the wood of centuries ; its little 
vales were then covered with the living verdure of the 
north ; and its unpretending, but neat and comfortable 
villas, lay sheltered in groves, and embedded in flowers. 
The beauty and fertility of the place gained for it a name 
which probably expressed far more than was properly 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


3 


understood at that early day. The inhabitants of the coun- 
try styled their possessions the “Garden of America.” 
Neither were their guests from the scorching plains of the 
south reluctant to concede this imposing title. The appella- 
tion descended even to our own time ; nor was it entirely 
abandoned until the traveller had the means of contemplat- 
ing the thousand broad and lovely valleys which, fifty years 
ago, lay buried in the dense shadows of the forest . 1 

The date we have just named was a period fraught with 
the deepest interest to the British possessions on this conti- 
nent. A bloody and vindictive war, which had been com- 
menced in defeat and disgrace, was about to end in triumph. 
France was deprived of the last of her possessions on the 
main, while the immense region which lies between the Bay 
of Hudson and the territories of Spain submitted to the 
power of England. The colonists had shared largely in 
contributing to the success of the mother country. Tosses 
and contumely, that had been incurred by the besotting 
prejudices of European commanders, were beginning to be 
forgotten in the pride of success. The blunders of Brad- 
dock, the indolence of Loudon, and the impotency of Aber- 
crombie, were repaired by the vigor of Amherst, and the 
genius of Wolfe. In every quarter of the globe, the arms 
of Britain were triumphant. The loyal provincials were 
among the loudest in their exultations and rejoicings ; 
wilfully shutting their eyes to the scanty meed of applause 
that a powerful people ever reluctantly bestows on its de- 
pendants, as if love of glory, like avarice, increases by its 
means of indulgence. 

The system of oppression and misrule, which hastened a 
separation that sooner or later must have occurred in the 
natural order of events, had not yet commenced. The 
mother country, if not just, was still complaisant. Like all 

1 There is both a State and an Island which bears the same name. 
Rhode Island (the State) is the smallest of the twenty-four sisters 
which compose the American Union. It is not so large as many 
English counties, has to-day a population not much exceeding one 
hundred thousand souls, and is well known for its manufacturing 
industry. 


4 


XTbe 1 Refc 1Rov>er 


old and great nations, she was indulging in the pleasing but 
dangerous enjoyment of self-contemplation. The qualities 
and services of a race who were believed to be inferior 
were, however, soon forgotten ; or, if remembered, it was in 
order to be misrepresented and vituperated. As this feeling 
increased with the discontent of the civil dissensions, it led 
to still more striking injustice, and greater folly. Men who, 
from their observations, should have known better, were not 
ashamed to proclaim, even in the highest council of the 
nation, their ignorance of the character of a people with 
whom they had mingled their blood. Self-esteem gave 
value to the opinions of fools. It was under this soothing 
infatuation that veterans were heard to disgrace their noble 
profession by boastings that should have been hushed in the 
mouth of a soldier of the carpet ; it was under this infatua- 
tion that Burgoyne gave, in the Commons of England, that 
memorable promise of marching from Quebec to Boston 
with a force he saw fit to name — a pledge that he afterward 
redeemed by going over the same ground, with twice the 
number of followers as captives ; and it was under this infatu- 
ation that England subsequently threw away her hundred 
thousand lives, and lavished her hundred millions of treasure. 

The history of that memorable struggle is familiar to every 
American. Content with the knowledge that his country 
triumphed, he is willing to let the glorious result take its 
proper place in the pages of history. He sees that her em- 
pire rests on a broad and natural foundation, which needs 
no support from venal pens ; and, happily for his peace of 
mind, no less than for his character, he feels that the pros- 
perity of the republic is not to be sought in the degradation 
of surrounding nations. 

Our present purpose leads us back to the period of calm 
which preceded the storm of the Revolution. In the early 
days of the month of October, 1759, Newport, like every 
other town in America, was filled with the mingled senti- 
ments of grief and joy. The inhabitants mourned the fall 
of Wolfe, while they triumphed in his victory. Quebec, the 
stronghold of the Canadas, and the last place of any im- 
portance held by a people whom they had been educated to 


XE be IRefc 1Ro\>er 


5 


believe were their natural enemies, had just changed its 
masters. That loyalty to the crown of England, which en- 
dured so much before the strange principle became extinct, 
was then at its height ; and probably the colonist was not 
to be found who did not, in some measure, identify his own 
honor with the fancied glory of the house of Brunswick. 
The day on which the action of our tale commences had been 
expressly set apart to manifest the sympathy of the good 
people of the town and its vicinity in the success of the royal 
arms. It had opened, as thousands of days have opened 
since, with the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon ; 
and the population, at an early hour, had poured into the 
streets of the place, with that determined zeal in the cause 
of merriment, which ordinarily makes preconcerted joy so 
dull an amusement. The chosen orator of the day had 
exhibited his eloquence in a sort of prosaic monody in praise 
of the dead hero, and had sufficiently manifested his loyalty 
by laying the glory, not only of that sacrifice, but all that 
had been reaped by so many thousands of his brave com- 
panions, also, most humbly at the foot of the throne. 

Content with these demonstrations of their allegiance, the 
inhabitants began to retire to their dwellings, as the sun 
settled towards those immense regions which then lay an 
endless and unexplored wilderness, but which now are teem- 
ing with the fruits and enjoyments of civilized life. The 
countrymen from the environs, and even from the adjoining 
main, were beginning to turn their faces towards their dis- 
tant homes, with that frugal care which still distinguishes 
the inhabitants of this portion of our country even in the 
midst of their greatest abandonment to pleasures, in order 
that the approaching evening might not lead them into ex- 
penditures which were not deemed germane to the proper 
feelings of the occasion. In short, the excess of the hour 
was past, and each individual was returning into the sober 
channels of his ordinary avocations, with an earnestness 
and discretion which proved he was not altogether unmind- 
ful of the time that had been squandered in the display of a 
spirit that he already appeared half disposed to consider as 
supererogatory. 


6 


XTbe IReb 1 Rover 


The sounds of the hammer, the axe, and the saw were 
again heard in the place ; the windows of more than one 
shop were half opened, as if its owner had made a sort of 
compromise between his interests and his conscience, and 
the masters of the only three inns in the town were to be 
seen standing before their doors, regarding the retiring 
countrymen with eyes which plainly betrayed that they were 
seeking customers among a people who were always much 
more ready to sell than to buy. A few noisy and thought- 
less seamen, belonging to the vessels in the haven, together 
with some half dozen notorious tavern-haunters, were, 
however, the sole fruits of all their nods of recognition, in- 
quiries into the welfare of wives and children, and, in some 
instances, of open invitations to alight and drink. 

Worldly care, with a constant though sometimes an ob- 
lique look at the future state, formed the great characteristic 
of all that people who then dwelt in what were called the 
provinces of New England. Still the business of the day 
was not forgotten, though it was deemed unnecessary to di- 
gest its proceedings in idleness, or over the bottle. The 
travellers along the different roads that led into the interior 
of the island formed themselves into little knots, in which 
the policy of the great national events they had just been 
commemorating, and the manner they had been treated by 
the different individuals selected to take the lead in the of- 
fices of the day, were freely handled, though with great 
deference to the established reputations of the distinguished 
parties most concerned. It was everywhere conceded, that 
the prayers, which had been in truth a little conversational 
and historical, were faultless and searching exercises ; and, 
on the whole (though to this opinion there were some clients 
of an advocate adverse to the orator, who were moderate 
dissenters), it was established, that a more eloquent oration 
had never issued from the mouth of man, than had that day 
been delivered in their presence. Precisely in the same 
temper was the subject discussed by the workmen on a ship 
which was then building in the harbor, and which, in the 
same spirit of provincial admiration that has since immortal- 
ized so many edifices, bridges, and even individuals within 


Ube IReb IRover 


7 


their several precincts, was confidently affirmed to be the 
rarest specimen then extant of the nice proportions of naval 
architecture ! 

Of the orator himself it may be necessary to say a word 
in order that so remarkable an intellectual prodigy should 
fill his proper place in our frail and short-lived catalogue of 
the worthies of that day. He was the usual oracle of his 
neighborhood, when a condensation of its ideas on any great 
event, like the one just mentioned, became necessary. His 
learning was justly computed, by comparison, to be of the 
most profound and erudite character ; and it was very truly 
affirmed to have astonished more than one European scholar, 
who had been tempted by a fame which, like heat, was only 
the more intense from its being so confined, to grapple with 
him on the arena of ancient literature. He was a man who 
knew how to improve these high gifts to his exclusive advan- 
tage. In but one instance had he ever been thrown enough 
off his guard to commit an act that had a tendency to depress 
the reputation he had thus gained ; and that was, in per- 
mitting one of his labored flights of eloquence to be printed ; 
or, as his more witty though less successful rival, the only 
other lawyer in the place, expressed it, in suffering one of 
his fugitive essays to be caught. But even this experiment, 
whatever might have been its effects abroad, served to con- 
firm his renown at home. He now stood before his admir- 
ers in the dignity of types ; and it was in vain for that 
miserable tribe of * ‘ animalculse, who live by feeding on the 
body of genius,’ , to attempt to undermine a reputation 
that was embalmed in the faith of so many parishes. The 
brochure was diligently scattered through the provinces, 
lauded around the teapot, openly extolled in the prints, — by 
some kindred spirit, as was manifest in the similarity of 
style, — and, by one believer, more zealous or perhaps more 
interested than the rest, it was actually put on board the 
next ship which sailed for “home,” as England was then 
affectionately termed, inclosed in an envelope which bore an 
address no less imposing than that of the Majesty of Britian. 
Its effects on the straight-going mind of the dogmatic Ger- 
man who then filled the throne of the Conqueror were never 


8 


Ube IRefc IRover 


accurately known, though they who were in the secret of 
the transmission, long looked in vain for the signal reward 
that was to follow so favorable an exhibition of human in- 
tellect. 

Notwithstanding these high and beneficent gifts, their 
possessor was now as unconsciously engaged in that portion 
of his professional labors which bore the strongest resem- 
blance to the occupation of a scrivener, as if nature, in 
bestowing such rare endowments, had denied him the 
phrenological quality of self-esteem. A critical observer 
might, however, have seen, or fancied that he saw, in the 
forced humility of his countenance, certain gleamings of 
a triumph that might not be traced to the fall of Quebec. 
The habit of appearing meek had, however, united with a 
frugal regard for the precious and irreclaimable minutes, 
in producing this extraordinary diligence in a pursuit of 
a character that was so humble when compared with his 
recent mental efforts. 

leaving this gifted favorite of fortune and nature, we 
shall now pass to an entirely different individual, and to 
another quarter of the place. The spot to which we wish 
to transport the reader, was neither more nor less than the 
shop of a tailor, who did not disdain to perform the most 
minute offices of his vocation in his own heedful person. 
The humble edifice stood at no great distance from the 
water, in the skirts of the town, and in such a situation as 
to enable its occupant to look out upon the loveliness of the 
inner basin, and, through a vista cut by the elements be- 
tween islands, even upon the lake-like scenery of the outer 
harbor. A small, though little frequented wharf, lay before 
its door ; while a certain air of negligence, and the absence 
of bustle, sufficiently manifested that the place itself was not 
the immediate site of the much boasted commercial pros- 
perity of the port. 

The afternoon was like a morning in spring, the breeze 
which occasionally rippled the basin possessing that pe- 
culiarly bland influence which is so often felt in the Ameri- 
can autumn ; and the worthy mechanic labored at his 
calling, seated on his shop-board at an open window, far 


Ube IRefc IRover 


9 


better satisfied with himself than many of those whose 
fortune it is to be placed in state, beneath canopies of velvet 
and gold. On the outer side of the little building, a tall, 
awkward, but vigorous and well-formed countryman was 
lounging, with one shoulder placed against the side of the 
shop, as if his legs found the task of supporting his heavy 
frame too grievous to be endured without assistance, seem- 
ingly in waiting for the completion of the garment at which 
the other toiled, and with which he intended to adorn 
his person, in an adjoining parish, on the succeeding 
Sabbath. 

In order to render the minutes shorter, and possibly in the 
indulgence of a very ungovernable propensity to talk, of 
which he who wielded the needle was somewhat the sub- 
ject, but few of the passing moments were suffered to escape 
without a word from one or the other of the parties. As 
the subject of their discourse had a direct reference to the 
principal matter of our tale, we shall take leave to give 
such portions of it to the reader as we deem most relevant 
to a clear exposition of that which is to follow. The latter 
will always bear in mind, that he who worked was a man 
drawing into the wane of life ; that he bore about him the 
appearance of one who, either from incompetency or from 
some fatality of fortune, had been doomed to struggle 
through the world, keeping poverty from his residence only 
by the aid of great industry and rigid frugality ; and that the 
idler was a youth of that age and condition that the acquis- 
ition of an entire set of habiliments formed a sort of era in 
his adventures. 

“Yes,” exclaimed the indefatigable shaper of cloth, a 
species of sigh, which might have been equally construed 
into an evidence of the fulness of his mental enjoyment, or 
of the excess of his bodily labors, struggling from his lips ; 
“ yes, smarter sayings may have fallen from the lips of man, 
than such as the squire poured out to-day, but we in the 
provinces have never heard them. When he spoke of the 
plains of Father Abraham, and of the smoke and thunder 
of the battle, Pardon, it stirred up such stomachy feelings 
in my bosom, that I verily believe I could have had the 


IO 


Z be IReb lRo\>er 


heart to throw aside the thimble, and go forth myself, to 
seek glory in battling in the cause of the king.” 

The youth, whose Christian or “given” name, as it is 
even now generally termed in New England, had been in- 
tended, by his pious sponsors, humbly to express his future 
hopes, turned his head towards the heroic tailor, with an 
expression of drollery about the eye that proved nature had 
not been niggardly in the gift of humor, however the quality 
was suppressed by the restraints of a very peculiar manner, 
and no less peculiar education. 

“ There ’s an opening now, neighbor Homespun, for an 
ambitious man,” he said, “sin’ his majesty has lost his 
stoutest general.” 

“Yes, yes,” returned the individual who, either in his 
youth, or in his age, had made so capital a blunder in the 
choice of a profession, “a fine and promising chance it is 
for one who counts only five-and-twenty ; but most of my 
day has gone by, and I must spend the rest of it here, 
where you see me, between buckram and osnaburghs — 
who put the dye into this cloth, Pardy ? — it is the best laid 
in bark I ’ve fingered this fall.” 

“ Eet the old woman alone for giving the lasting color to 
her web ; I ’ll engage, neighbor Homespun, provided you 
furnish the proper fit, there ’ll not be a better dressed lad on 
the island than my own mother’s son ! But, sin’ you cannot 
be a general, good-man, you ’ll have the comfort of knowing 
there’ll be no more fighting without you. Everybody 
agrees the French won’t hold out much longer, and then we 
must have a peace for want of enemies.” 

“ So best, so best, boy ; for one who has seen as much of 
the horrors of war as I, knows how to put a rational value 
on the blessings of tranquillity ! ” 

“Then you aren’t altogether unacquainted, good-man, 
with the new trade you thought of setting up ? ” 

“I ! — I have been through five long and bloody wars, 
and I ’ve reason to thank God that I ’ve gone through them 
all without a scratch as big as one this needle would make. 
Five long and bloody, ay, and I may say glorious 
have I lived through in safety ! ” 


wars. 


XEbe IReb Iftovec 


II 


“A perilous time it must have been for you, neighbor. 
But I don’t remember to have heard of more than two 
quarrels with the Frenchmen in my day.” 

‘‘You are but a boy compared to one who has seen the 
end of his third score of years. Here is this war, that is 
now so likely to be soon ended. Heaven, which rules all 
things in wisdom, be praised for the same ! Then there 
was the business of ’45, when the bold Warren sailed up 
and down our coasts ; a scourge to his majesty’s enemies, 
and a safeguard to all loyal subjects. Then, there was a 
business in Garmany, concerning which we had awful ac- 
counts of battles fou’t, in which men were mowed down like 
grass falling before the scythe of a strong arm. That makes 
three ; ” cocking his spectacles, and counting with his thim- 
ble on the fingers of the other hand. “ The fourth was the 
rebellion of ’15, of which I pretend not to have seen much, 
being but a youth at the time ; and the fifth was a dreadful 
rumor that was spread through the provinces, of a general 
rising among the blacks and Indians, which was to sweep 
all us Christians into eternity at a minute’s warning ! ” 

“Well, I had always reckoned you for a home-staying 
and a peaceable man, neighbor,” returned the admiring 
countryman ; ‘ ‘ nor did I ever dream that you had seen these 
serious movings. ’ ’ 

“ I have not boasted, Pardon, or I might have added 
other heavy matters to the list. There was a great struggle 
in the East, no longer than the year ’32, for the Persian 
throne. You have read of the laws of the Medes and the 
Persians : well, for the very throne that gave forth those 
unalterable laws was there a frightful struggle, in which 
blood ran like water ; but, as it was not in Christendom, I 
do not account it among my own experiences ; though I 
might have spoken of the Porteous mob with great reason, 
as it took place in another portion of the very kingdom in 
which I lived.” 

“ You must have journeyed much, and have been stirring 
late and early, good-man, to have seen all these things, and 
to have got no harm ? ’ ’ 

“I’ve been something of a traveller, too, Pardy. Twice 


12 


Ube IReb IRover 


have I been overland to Boston, and once have I sailed 
through the Great Sound of Long Island, down to the town 
of York. It is an awful undertaking, the latter, as it 
respects the distance, and more especially because it is need- 
ful to pass a place that is likened, by its name, to the 
entrance of Tophet.” 

“ I have often heard the spot called ‘ Hell Gate’ spoken 
of ; and I may say, too, that I know a man well who has 
been through it twice ; once in going to York, and once in 
coming homeward.’ ’ 

“ He had enough of it, as I ’ll engage ! Did he tell you 
of the pot which tosses and roars as if the biggest of Beel- 
zebub’s fires was burning beneath, and of the hog’s back 
over which the water pitches, as it may tumble over the 
Great Falls of the West? Owing to reasonable skill in 
our seamen, and uncommon resolution in the passengers, 
we happily had a good time of it through ourselves ; though 
I care not who knows it, I will own it is a severe trial to 
the courage to enter that dreadful strait. We cast out our 
anchors at certain islands, which lie a few furlongs this 
side the place, and sent the pinnace, with the captain and 
two stout seamen, to reconnoitre the spot, in order to see 
if it were in a peaceful state or not. The report being 
favorable, the passengers were landed, and the vessel was 
got through, by the blessing of Heaven, in safety. We 
had all reason to rejoice that the prayers of the congrega- 
tion were asked before we departed from the peace and 
security of our own homes ! ’ ’ 

“You journeyed round the ‘ Gate ’ on foot? ” demanded 
the attentive boor. 

“ Certain ! It would have been a sinful and a blas- 
phemous tempting of Providence to have done otherwise, 
seeing that our duty called us to no such sacrifice. But 
all that danger is gone by, and so, I trust, will that of this 
bloody war, in which we have both been actors ; and then 
I humbly hope his sacred majesty will have leisure to turn 
his royal mind to the pirates who infest the coast, and to 
order some of his stout naval captains to mete out to the 
rogues the treatment they are so fond of giving to others. 


TTbe IReb IRover 


13 


It would be a joyful sight to my old eyes to see the famous 
and long-hunted Red Rover brought into this very port, 
towing at the poop of a king’s cruiser.” 

“And is it a desperate villain, he of whom you now 
make mention ? ” 

“ He ! There are many he’s in that one lawless ship, 
and bloody-minded and nefarious thieves are they, to the 
smallest boy. It is heart-searching and grievous, Pardy, 
to hear of their evil-doings on the high seas of the king ! ” 

“I have often heard mention made of the Rover,” re- 
turned the countryman ; “ but never to enter into any of 
the intricate particulars of his knavery.” 

“How should you, boy, who live up in the country, 
know so much of what is passing on the great deep, as we 
who dwell in a port that is resorted to by mariners ? I am 
fearful you ’ll be making it late home, Pardon,” he added, 
glancing his eye at certain lines drawn on his shop-board, 
by the aid of which he was enabled to note the progress of 
the setting sun. “It is drawing towards the hour of five, 
and you have twice that number of miles to go, before you 
can, by any manner of means, reach the nearest boundary 
of your father’s farm.” 

“ The road is plain, and the people honest,” returned the 
countryman, who cared not if it were midnight, provided 
he could be the bearer of the particulars of some dreadful sea 
robbery to the ears of those he well knew would flock around 
him, at his return, to hear the tidings from the port. ‘ ‘ And is 
he, in truth, so much feared and sought for, as people say ? ” 

“Is he sought for! Is Tophet sought by a praying 
Christian? Few there are on the mighty deep, let them 
even be as stout for battle as was Joshua the great Jewish 
captain, that would not rather behold the land than see the 
top-gallants of that wicked pirate ! Men fight for glory, 
Pardon, as I may say I have seen, after living through so 
many wars ; but none love to meet an enemy who hoists 
a bloody flag at the first blow, and who is ready to cast 
both parties into the air, when he finds the hand of Satan 
has no longer the mind to help him.” 

“If the rogue is so desperate,” returned the youth, 


i4 


Ube IRefc IRover 


straightening his powerful limbs, with a look of rising pride, 
‘ ‘ why do not the island and plantations fit out a coaster 
in order to bring him in, that he might get a sight of a 
wholesome gibbet ? L,et the drum beat on such a message 
through our neighborhood, and I’ll engage that it don’t 
leave it without one volunteer at least.” 

“So much for not having seen war! Of what use 
would flails and pitchforks prove against men who have 
sold themselves to the devil? Often has the Rover been 
seen at night, or just as the sun has been going down, by 
the king’s cruisers, who, having fairly surrounded the 
thieves, had good reason to believe that they had them 
already in the bilboes ; but when the morning had come, 
the prize was vanished, by fair means or by foul ! ” 

‘ ‘ And are the villains so bloody-minded that they are 
called ‘ Red’ ? ” 

“ Such is the title of their leader,” returned the worthy 
tailor, who by this time was swelling with the importance 
of possessing so interesting a legend to communicate ; ‘ ‘ and 
such is also the name they give to his vessel ; because no 
man who has put foot on board her has ever come back to 
say that she has a better or a worse ; that is, no honest 
mariner or lucky voyager. The ship is of the size of a 
king’s sloop, they say, and of like equipments and form ; 
but she has miraculously escaped from the hands of many 
a gallant frigate ; and once, it is whispered, for no loyal 
subject would like to say so scandalous a thing openly, 
Pardon, that she lay under the guns of a fifty for an hour, 
and seemingly, to all eyes, she sunk like hammered lead 
to the bottom. But just as everybody was shaking hands, 
and wishing his neighbor joy at so happy a punishment 
coming over the knaves, a West Indiaman came into port, 
that had been robbed by the Rover on the morning after 
the night in which it was thought they had all gone into 
eternity together. And what makes the matter worse, boy, 
while the king’s ship was careening with her keel out to 
stop the holes of cannon-balls, the pirate was sailing up 
and down the coast, as sound as the day that the wrights 
first turned her from their hands ! ” 


Ube iReb iRoper 


15 


“Well, this is unheard of!” returned the countryman, 
on whom the tale was beginning to make a sensible impres- 
sion. “Is she a well-turned and comely ship to the eye? 
or is it by any means certain that she is an actual living 
vessel at all ? ” 

“Opinions differ. Some say, yes; some say, no. But 
I am well acquainted with a man who travelled a week in 
company with a mariner, who passed within a hundred 
fathoms of her, in a gale of wind. L,ucky it was for them 
that the hand of the Eord was felt so powerfully on the 
deep, and that the Rover had enough to do to keep his own 
ship from foundering. The acquaintance of my friend had 
a good view of both vessel and captain, therefore, in perfect 
safety. He said that the pirate was a man may-be half as 
big again as the tall preacher over on the main, with hair of 
the color of the sun in a fog, and eyes that no man would 
like to look upon a second time. He saw him as plainly as 
I see you ; for the knave stood in the rigging of his ship, 
beckoning with a hand as big as a coat-flap, for the honest 
trader to keep off, in order that the two vessels might not 
do one another damage by coming foul.” 

‘ ‘ He was a bold mariner, that trader, to go so nigh such 
a merciless rogue.” 

“ I warrant you, Pardon, it was desperately against his 
will ! But it was on a night so dark — ’ ’ 

“Dark ! ” interrupted the other, who had the inquisitive 
shrewdness of a New Englander, notwithstanding his dis- 
position to credulity; “by what contrivance, then, did he 
manage to see so well ? ’ ’ 

“No man can say ! ” answered the tailor, “but see he 
did, just in the manner and the very things I have named 
to you. More than that, he took good note of the vessel, 
that he might know her, if chance or Providence should 
ever happen to throw her again into his way. She was a 
long black ship, lying low in the water, like a snake in the 
grass, with a desperate wicked look, and altogether of dis- 
honest dimensions. Then everybody says that she appears 
to sail faster than the clouds above, seeming to care little 
which way the wind blows, and that no one is a jot safer 


i6 


Ube 1 Reb 1Ro\>er 


from her speed than her honesty. According to all that I 
have heard, she is something such a craft as yonder slaver 
that has been lying the week past, the L,ord knows why, in 
our outer harbor.” 

As the gossiping tailor had necessarily lost many precious 
moments in relating the preceding history, he now set about 
redeeming them with the utmost diligence, keeping time to 
the rapid movement of his needle-hand, by corresponding 
jerks of his head and shoulders. In the meanwhile, the 
bumpkin, whose wondering mind was by this time charged 
nearly to bursting with what he had heard, turned his look 
towards the vessel the other had pointed out, in order to 
get the only image that was now required, to enable him to 
do credit to so moving a tale, suitably engraved on his 
imagination. There was necessarily a pause, while the re- 
spective parties were thus severally occupied. It was sud- 
denly broken by the tailor, who clipped the thread with 
which he had just finished the garment, cast everything 
from his hands, threw his spectacles upon his forehead, and, 
leaning his arms on his knees in such a manner as to form a 
perfect labyrinth with the limbs, he stretched his body forward 
so far as to lean out of the window, riveting his eyes also on 
the ship which still attracted the gaze of his companion. 

“ Do you know, Pardy,” he said, “ that strange thoughts 
and cruel misgivings have come over me concerning that 
very vessel ? They say she is a slaver come in for wood 
and water, and there she has been a week, and not a stick 
bigger than an oar has gone up her side ; and I ’ll engage 
that ten drops from Jamaica have gone on board her, to 
one from the spring. Then, you may see, she is anchored 
in such a way that but one of the guns from the battery 
can touch her ; whereas, had she been a real timid trader, 
she would naturally have got into a place where, if a strag- 
gling picaroon should come into the port, he would have 
found her in the very hottest of the fire.” 

“You have an ingenious turn with you, good-man,” re- 
turned the wondering countryman; “now, a ship might 
have lain on the battery-island itself, and I would have 
hardly noticed the thing.” 


TTfoe IRefc IRover 


17 


“ ’T is use and experience, Pardon, that makes men of us 
all. I should know something of batteries, having seen so 
many wars, and I served a campaign of a week in that very 
fort, when the rumor came that the French were sending 
cruisers from L,ouisburg down the coast. For that matter, 
my duty was to stand sentinel over that very cannon ; and 
if I have done the thing once, I have twenty times squinted 
along the piece to see in what quarter it would send its shot, 
provided such a calamity should arrive as that it might 
become necessary to fire it, loaded with real warlike balls. ’ ’ 

“And who are these?” demanded Pardon, with that 
species of sluggish curiosity which had been awakened by 
the wonders related by the other: “are these mariners of 
the slaver, or are they idle Newporters? ” 

“They ! ” exclaimed the tailor: “ sure enough they are 
new-comers ; it may be well to have a closer look at them 
in these troublesome times ! Here, Nab, take the garment 
and press down the seams, you idle hussy ; for neighbor 
Hopkins is straitened for time, while your tongue is going 
like a young lawyer’s in a justice’s court. Don’t be sparing 
of your elbow, girl ; for it ’s no India muslin that you ’ll 
have under the iron, but cloth that would do to side a house 
with. Ah ! your mother’s loom, Pardy, robs the seamster 
of many an honest job.” 

Having thus transferred the remainder of the job from his 
own hands to those of an awkward, pouting girl, who was 
compelled to abandon her gossip with a neighbor, in order 
to obey his injunctions, he quickly removed his own person, 
notwithstanding a miserable limp with which he had come 
into the world, from the shop-board to the open air. As 
more important characters are, however, about to be intro- 
duced to the reader, we shall defer the ceremony to the 
opening of another chapter. 




CHAPTER II. 

“ Sir Toby. Excellent ! I smell a device.” 

Twelfth Night. 

T HE strangers were three in number ; for strangers 
the good-man Homespun, who knew not only the 
names but most of the private histories of every 
man and woman within ten miles of his own 
residence, immediately proclaimed them to be in a whisper 
to his companion ; and strangers, too, of a mysterious and 
threatening aspect. In order that others may have an op- 
portunity of judging of the probability of the latter con- 
jecture, it becomes necessary that a more minute account 
should be given of the respective appearances of these 
individuals, who, unhappily for their reputations, tempo- 
rarily at least, had the misfortune to be unknown to the 
gossiping tailor of Newport. 

The one by far the most imposing in his general mien, 
was a youth who had apparently seen some six or seven and 
twenty seasons. That those seasons had not been entirely 
made of sunny days and nights of repose, was betrayed by 
the tinges of brown which had been laid on his features, 
layer after layer, in such constant succession, as to have 
changed to a deep olive a complexion which had once been 
fair, and through which the rich blood was still mantling 
with the finest glow of vigorous health. His features were 
rather noble and manly than distinguished for their exact- 
ness and symmetry ; his nose being far more bold and prom- 
inent than regular in its form, with his brows projecting, 
and sufficiently marked to give to the whole of the superior 
parts of his face that decided intellectual expression which 

18 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


19 


is already becoming so common to American physiognomy. 
The mouth was firm and manly ; and, while he muttered to 
himself and smiled, as the curious tailor drew slowly nigher, 
it discovered a set of glittering teeth, that shone the brighter 
from being cased in so dark a setting. The hair was jet 
black, in thick and confused ringlets ; and the eyes were 
very little larger than common, gray, and, though evidently 
of a changing expression, rather leaning to mildness than 
severity. The form of this young man was of that happy 
size which unites activity with strength. It seemed to be 
well knit, while it was justly proportioned and graceful. 
Though these several personal qualifications were exhibited 
under the disadvantages of the perfectly simple, though 
neat and rather tastefully disposed attire of a common mar- 
iner, they were sufficiently imposing to cause the suspicious 
dealer in buckram to hesitate before he would venture to 
address the stranger, whose eye appeared fastened, by a 
species of fascination, on the reputed slaver in the outer 
harbor. A curl of the upper lip, and another inexplicable 
smile, in which some strong feeling was mingled with his 
mutterings, decided the vacillating mind of the good-man. 
Without venturing to disturb a reverie that seemed so pro- 
found, he left the youth leaning against the head of the 
pile where he had long been standing perfectly unconscious 
of the presence of any intruder, and turned a little hastily, 
to examine the rest of the party. 

One of the remaining two was a white man, and the 
other a negro. Both had passed the middle age ; and both, 
in their appearances, furnished the strongest proofs of long 
exposure to the severity of many climates, and to number- 
less tempests. They were dressed in the plain, weather- 
soiled, and tarred habiliments of common seamen, bearing 
about their persons the other unerring evidences of their 
peculiar profession. The former was of a short, thick-set, 
powerful frame, in which, by a happy ordering of nature, a 
little confirmed perhaps by long habit, the strength was 
principally seated about the broad and brawny shoulders 
and sinewy arms ; as if, in the construction of the man, the 
inferior members had been considered of little other use 


20 


TTbe iRefc IRover 


than to transfer the superior to the different situations in 
which the former were to display their energies. His head 
was in proportion to the more immediate members ; the 
forehead low, and nearly covered with hair ; the eyes small, 
obstinate, sometimes fierce, and often dull ; the nose snub, 
coarse, and vulgar ; the mouth large and voracious ; the 
teeth short, clean, and perfectly sound ; and the chin broad, 
manly, and even expressive. This singularly constructed 
personage had taken his seat on an empty barrel, and, with 
folded arms, he sat examining the often-mentioned slaver, 
occasionally favoring his companion, the black, with such 
remarks as were suggested by his observation and experi- 
ence. 

The $kegro occupied a more humble post ; one better 
suited to his subdued habits and inclinations. In stature, 
and the peculiar division of animal force, there was a great 
resemblance between the two, with the exception that the 
latter enjoyed the advantage in height, and even in propor- 
tions. While nature had stamped on his lineaments those 
distinguishing marks which characterize the race from which 
he sprang, she had not done it to that revolting degree to 
which her displeasure against that stricken people is some- 
times carried. His features were more elevated than com- 
mon ; his eye was mild, easily excited to joy, and, like that 
of his companion, sometimes humorous. His head was be- 
ginning to be sprinkled with gray, his skin had lost the 
shining jet color which had distinguished it in his youth, 
and all his limbs and movements bespoke a man whose 
frame had been equally indurated and stiffened by toil. 
He sat on a low stone, and seemed intently employed in 
tossing pebbles into the air, showing his dexterity by catch- 
ing them in the hand from which they had just been cast ; 
an amusement which betrayed alike the natural tendency 
of his mind to seek pleasure in trifles, and the absence of 
the more elevating feelings which are the fruits of educa- 
tion. The process, however, furnished a striking exhibition 
of the physical force of the negro. In order to conduct this 
trivial pursuit without encumbrance, he had rolled the sleeve 
of his light canvas jacket to the elbow, laying bare, by the 


TEbe 1Re£> IRover 


21 


act, an arm that might have served as a model for the limb 
of Hercules. 

There was certainly nothing sufficiently imposing about 
the persons of either of these individuals to repel the inves- 
tigations of one as much influenced by curiosity as was out 
tailor. Instead, however, of yielding directly to the strong 
impulse, the honest shaper of cloth chose to direct his ad- 
vance in a manner that should give the bumpkin a striking 
proof of his sagacity. After making a sign of caution and 
intelligence to the latter, he approached slowly from behind, 
with a light step, that might give him an opportunity of 
hearing any secret that should unwittingly fall from either 
of the seamen. His forethought was followed by no very 
important results, though it served to supply his suspicions 
with all the additional testimony of the treachery of their 
characters that could be furnished by evidence so simple as 
the mere sound of their voices. As to the words them- 
selves, though the good-man believed they might possibly 
contain treason, he was compelled to acknowledge to him- 
self that it was so artfully concealed as to escape even his 
acuteness. We leave the reader himself to judge of the 
correctness of both opinions. 

“ This is a pretty bight of a basin, Guinea,” observed the 
white, rolling his tobacco in his mouth, and turning his 
eyes, for the first time in many minutes, from the vessel ; 
“ and a spot is it that a man, who lay on a lee-shore with- 
out sticks, might be glad to see his craft in. Now do I call 
myself something of a seaman, and yet I cannot weather 
upon the philosophy of that fellow in keeping his ship in 
the outer harbor, when he might warp her into this mill- 
pond in half an hour. It gives his boats hard duty, dusky 
S’ ip ; and that I call making foul weather of fair ! ” 

The^gro had been christened Scipio Africanus, by a 
species of witticism which was much more common to the 
provinces than it is to the States of America, and which 
filled so many of the meaner employments of the country, 
in name at least, with the counterparts of the philosophers, 
heroes, poets, and princes of Rome. To him it was a mat- 
ter of small moment whether the vessel lay in the offing or 


TTbe IRefc Iftom* 


22 


in the port ; and without discontinuing his childish amuse- 
ment, he manifested the same, by replying, with great in- 
difference, — 

“ I s’ pose he t’ink all the water inside lie on a top.” 

“ I tell you, Guinea,” returned the other, in a harsh, 
positive tone, “ the fellow is a know-nothing ! Would any 
man, who understands the behavior of a ship, keep his craft 
in a roadstead, when he might tie her, head and heels, in a 
basin like this ? ” . 

“ What he call roadstead? ” interrupted thef^gro, seiz- 
ing at once, with the avidity of ignorance, on the little 
oversight of his adversary, in confounding the outer harbor 
of Newport with the wilder anchorage below, and with the 
usual indifference of all similar people to the more material 
matter of whether the objection was at all germane to the 
point at issue ; “I never hear ’em call anchoring ground, 
with land around it, roadstead afore ! ” 

“ Hark ye, Mister Gold-coast,” muttered the white, bend- 
ing his head aside in a threatening manner, though he still 
disdained to turn his eyes on his humble adversary, “if 
you ’ve no wish to wear your shins parcelled for the next 
month, gather in the slack of your wit, and have an eye to 
the manner in which you let it run again. Just tell me 
this ; is n’t a port a port ? — and is n’t an offing an offing ? ” 
As these were two propositions to which even the inge- 
nuity of Scipio could raise no plausible objection, he wisely 
declined touching on either, contenting himself with shak- 
ing his head in self-complacency, and laughing as heartily 
at his imaginary triumph over his companion as if he had 
never known care, nor been the subject of wrong and 
humiliation, so long and so patiently endured. 

“ Ay, ay,” grumbled the white, readjusting his person in 
its former composed attitude, and again crossing the arms, 
which had been a little separated, to give force for the men- 
ace against the tender member of the black, “now you 
are piping the wind out of your throat like a flock of long- 
shore crows, you think you ’ve got the best of the matter. 
The Tord made a nigger an unrational animal ; and an ex- 
perienced seaman, who has doubled both Capes, and made 


Zhc IRefc 1 Rover 


23 


all the headlands atween Fundy and Horn, has no right to 
waste his breath in teaching common-sense to any of the 
breed ! I tell you, Scipio, since Scipio is your name on 
the ship’s books — though I ’ll wager a month’s pay against 
a wooden boat-hook, that your father was known at home 
as Quashee, and your mother as Quasheeba — therefore do 
I tell you, Scipio Africa — which is a name for all your 
color, I believe — that yonder chap, in the outer harbor of 
this here seaport, is no judge of an anchorage, or he would 
drop a kedge, mayhap hereaway, in a line with the south- 
ern end of that there small matter of an island, and hauling 
his ship up to it, fasten her to the spot with good hempen 
cables and iron mud-hooks. Now, look you here, S’ ip, at 
the reason of the matter,” he continued, in a manner which 
showed that the little skirmish that had just passed was 
like one of those sudden squalls of which they had both 
seen so many, and which were usually so soon succeeded by 
corresponding seasons of calm, “look you at the ration- 
ality of what I say. He has come into this anchorage 
either for something or for nothing. I suppose you are 
ready to admit that. If for nothing, he might have found 
that much outside, and I ’ll say no more about it ; but if 
for something, he could get it off easier, provided the ship 
lay hereaway, just where I told you, boy, not a fathom 
ahead or astern, than where she is now riding, though the 
article was no heavier than a fresh handful of feathers for 
the captain’s pillow. Now, if you have anything to gain- 
say the reason of this, why, I ’m ready to hear it as a rea- 
sonable man, and one who has not forgotten his manners in 
picking up his learning. ’ ’ 

“ S’ pose a wind come out fresh here at nor- west,” an- 
swered the other, stretching his brawny arm towards the 
point of the compass he named, ‘ ‘ and a vessel want to get 
to sea in a hurry, how you t’ink he get her far enough up to 
lay through the weather reach ? Ha ! you answer me dat ; 
you great scholar, Misser Dick, but you never see ship go 
in wind’s teeth, or hear a monkey talk.” 

“The*Jgack is right!” exclaimed the youth, who, it 
would seem, had overheard the dispute, while he appeared 


24 


XTbe 1 Reb IRcwetr 


otherwise engaged ; “ the slaver has left his vessel in the 
outer harbor, knowing that the wind holds so much to the 
westward at this season of the year ; and then you see he 
keeps his light spars aloft, although it is plain enough, by 
the manner in which his sails are furled, that he is strong- 
handed. Can you make out, boys, whether he has an 
anchor under foot, or is he merely riding by a single 
cable?” 

“The man must be a driveller, to lie in such a tides-way 
without dropping his stream, or at least a kedge, to steady 
the ship by,” returned the white, without appearing to think 
anything more than the received practice of seamen necessary 
to decide the point. “That he is no great judge of an 
anchorage, I am ready to allow ; but no man who can keep 
things so snug aloft, would think of fastening his ship, for 
any length of time, by a single cable, to sheer starboard 
and port, like that kicking colt, tied to the tree by a long 
halter, that we fell in with in our passage overland from 
Boston.” 

“’Em got a stream down, and all he rest of he anchor 
stowed,” said the black, whose dark eye was glancing un- 
derstandingly at the vessel, while he still continued to cast 
his pebbles into the air. “ S’ pose he jam he helm hard 
a-port, Misser Harry, and take a tide on he larboard bow, 
what you t’ink made him kick and gallop about ! Golly ! 
I like to see Dick, without a foot-rope, ride a colt tied to he 
tree ! ’ ’ 

Again thefijegro enjoyed his humor, by shaking his head 
as if his whole soul was amused by the whimsical image his 
rude fancy had conjured, indulging in a hearty laugh till 
the tears came, and again his white companion muttered 
heavy and sententious denunciations. The young man, 
who seemed to enter very little into the quarrels and witti- 
cisms of his singular associates, still kept his gaze intently 
fastened on the vessel, which to him appeared, for the mo- 
ment, to be the subject of some extraordinary interest. 
Shaking his own head, though in a far graver manner, as 
if his doubts were drawing to a close, he added, when the 
boisterous merriment of thetfegro had ceased, — 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


25 


“ Scipio, you are right : he rides altogether by his stream, 
and he keeps everything in readiness for a sudden move. 
In ten minutes he could carry his ship beyond the fire of the 
battery, provided he had but a capful of wind.” 

“ You appear to be a capital judge in these matters,” said 
a voice behind him. 

The youth turned suddenly on his heel, and then, for the 
first time, was he apprised of the presence of intruders. The 
surprise, however, was not confined to himself ; for, as there 
was another new-comer to be added to the company, the 
gossiping tailor was quite as much, or even more, the sub- 
ject of astonishment than any of the party which he had 
been so intently watching as to have prevented him from 
observing the approach of another utter stranger. 

The new-comer was a man between thirty and forty, and 
of a mien and an attire not a little adapted to quicken the 
active curiosity of the good-man Homespun. His person 
was slight, but it afforded the promise of exceeding agility, 
and even of vigor, especially when contrasted with his stat- 
ure, which was scarcely equal to the medium height of man. 
His skin had been dazzling as that of a woman, though a 
deep red, which had taken possession of the lower lineaments 
of his face, and which was particularly conspicuous on the 
outline of a fine aquiline nose, served to destroy all appear- 
ance of effeminacy. His hair was, like his complexion, fair, 
and fell about his temples in rich, glossy, and exuberant 
curls. His mouth and chin were beautiful in their formation ; 
but the former was a little scornful, and the two together 
bore a decided character of voluptuousness. The eye was 
blue, full, without being prominent, and, though in common 
placid and even soft, there were moments w r hen it seemed a 
little unsettled and wild. He wore a high conical hat, placed 
a little on one side, so as to give a slightly rakish expression 
to his physiognomy, a riding-frock of light green, breeches 
of buckskin, high boots, and spurs. In one of his hands 
he carried a small whip, w r ith which, when first seen, 
he was cutting the air with an appearance of the utmost 
indifference to the surprise occasioned by his sudden inter- 
ruption. 


2 6 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


“ I say, sir, you seem to be an excellent judge in these 
matters, ’ ’ he repeated, when he had endured the frowning 
examination of the young seaman quite as long as com- 
ported with his own patience ; ‘ ‘ you speak like a man who 
at least feels that he has a right to give an opinion.” 

‘ ‘ Do you find it remarkable that one should not be igno- 
rant of a profession that he has diligently pursued for a 
whole life ? ’ ’ 

“ Hum ! I find it a little remarkable that one, whose 
business is that of a handicraft, should dignify his trade with 
such a sounding name as profession . We of the science of 
the law, and who enjoy the particular smiles of the learned 
universities, cannot say much more ! ’ ’ 

‘ * Then call it trade ; for nothing in common with gentle- 
men of your craft is acceptable to a seaman,” retorted the 
young mariner, turning away from the intruder with a dis- 
gust that he did not affect to conceal. 

“A lad of some mettle ! ” muttered the other, with a rapid 
utterance and a meaning mile. ‘ ‘ Let not such a trifle as a 
word part us, friend. I confess my ignorance of all mari- 
time matters, and would gladly learn a little from one so 
skilful as yourself in the noble — profession. I think you 
said something concerning the manner in which yonder ship 
has anchored, and of the condition in which they keep things 
alow and aloft ? ’ ’ 

“ Alow and aloft ! ” exclaimed the young sailor, facing his 
interrogator with a stare that was quite as expressive as his 
recent disgust. 

‘ ‘ Alow and aloft ! ’ ’ calmly repeated the other. 

“ I spoke of her neatness aloft, but do not affect to judge 
of things below at this distance. ’ ’ 

“ Then it was my error ; but you will have pity on the 
ignorance of one who is so new to th z profession. As I have 
intimated, I am no more than an unworthy barrister in the 
service of his majesty, expressly sent from home on a par- 
ticular errand. If it were not a pitiful pun, I might add, I 
am not yet a judge.” 

“No doubt you will soon arrive at that distinction,” re- 
turned the other, “ if his majesty’s ministers have any just 


XTbe iReb iRover 


27 


conceptions of modest merit ; unless, indeed, you should 
happen to be prematurely — ” 

The youth bit his lip, made a quick inclination of the head, 
and walked leisurely up the wharf, followed with the same 
appearance of deliberation by the two seamen who had ac- 
companied him in his visit to the place. The stranger in 
green watched the whole movement with a calm and ap- 
parently an amused eye, tapping his boot with his whip, 
and seeming to reflect like one who would willingly find 
means to continue the discourse. 

“ Hanged ! ” he at length uttered, as if to complete the 
sentence the other had left unfinished. “ It is droll enough 
that such a fellow should dare to foretell so elevated a fate 
for me ! ” 

He was evidently preparing to follow the retiring party, 
when he felt a hand laid a little unceremoniously on his 
arm, and his step was arrested. 

“One word in your ear, sir,” said the attentive tailor, 
making a significant sign that he had matters of importance 
to communicate : “a single word, sir, since you are in the 
particular service of his majesty. Neighbor Pardon,” he 
continued, with a patronizing air, ‘ ‘ the sun is getting low, 
and you will make it late home, I fear. The girl will give 
you the garment, and — God speed you ! Say nothing of 
what you have heard and seen, until you have had word 
from me to that effect ; for it is seemly that two men, who 
have had so much experience in a war like this, should not 
lack in discretion. Fare ye well, lad ! — pass the good word 
to the worthy farmer, your father, not forgetting a refresh- 
ing hint of friendship to the thrifty housewife, your mother. 
Fare ye well, honest youth, fare ye well ! ” 

Homespun, having thus disposed of his admiring com- 
panion, waited, with much elevation of mien, until the 
gaping bumpkin had left the wharf, before he again turned 
his look on the stranger in green. The latter had continued 
in his tracks, with an air of undisturbed composure, until he 
was once more addressed by the tailor, whose character and 
dimensions he seemed to have taken in, at a single glance 
of his rapid eye. 


28 


XTbe IReb IRover 


“You say, sir, you are a servant of his majesty?” de- 
manded the latter, determined to solve all doubts as to the 
other’s claims on his confidence, before he committed him- 
self by any precipitate disclosure. 

‘ ‘ I may say more — his familiar confidant ! ’ ’ 

“ It is an honor to converse with such a man, that I feel 
in every bone of my body,” returned the cripple, smoothing 
his scanty hairs, and bowing nearly to the earth ; “ a high 
and loyal honor do I feel this gracious privilege to be.” 

“Such as it is, my friend, I take on myself, in his maj- 
esty’s name, to bid you welcome.” 

“ Such munificent condescension would open my whole 
heart, though treason, and all other unrighteousness, were 
locked up in it. I am happy, honored, and I doubt not, 
honorable sir, to have this opportunity of proving my zeal 
to the king, before one who will not fail to report my humble 
efforts to his royal ears. ’ ’ 

“ Speak freely,” interrupted the stranger in green, with 
an air of princely condescension ; though one less simple 
and less occupied with his own budding honors than the 
tailor, might have easily discovered that he began to grow 
weary of the other’s prolix loyalty. “ Speak without re- 
serve, friend; it is what we always do at court.” Then, 
switching his boot with his riding- whip, he muttered to him- 
self as he swung his light frame on his heel, with an indo- 
lent, indifferent air, “If the fellow swallows that, he is as 
heavy as his own goose ! ’ ’ 

“ I shall, sir, I shall ; and a great proof of charity is it in 
one like your noble self to listen. You see yonder tall ship, 
sir, in the outer harbor of this loyal seaport ? ” 

“ Ido; she seems to be an object of general attention 
among the worthy lieges of the place.” 

Therein I conceive, sir, you have overrated the sagacity 
of my townsmen. She has been lying where you now see 
her for many days, and not a syllable have I heard whis- 
pered against her character, from mortal man, except 
myself.” 

“ Indeed !” muttered the stranger, biting the handle of 
his whip, and fastening his glittering eyes intently on the 


Ube IReb IRover 


29 


features of the good-man, which were literally swelling with 
the importance of his discovery ; “ and what may be the 
nature of your suspicions ? ” 

Why, sir, I may be wrong — and God forgive me if I am 
—but this is no more nor less than what has arisen in 
my mind on the subject. Yonder ship, and her crew, bear 
the reputation of being innocent and harmless slavers, 
among the good people of Newport ; and as such are they 
received and welcomed in the place ; the one to a safe and 
easy anchorage, and the others among the taverners and 
shop-dealers. I would not have you imagine that a single 
garment has ever gone from my fingers for one of all her 
crew ; no, let it be forever remembered that the whole of 
their dealings have been with the young tradesman named 
Tape, who entices customers to barter by backbiting and 
otherwise defiling the fair names of his betters in the busi- 
ness ; not a garment has been made by my hands for even 
the smallest boy.” 

“You are lucky,” returned the stranger in green, “in 
being so well quit of the knaves ; and yet have you forgotten 
to name the particular offence with which I am to charge 
them before the face of the king.” 

‘ ‘ I am coming as fast as possible to the weighty matter. 
You must know, worthy and commendable sir, that I am a 
man that has seen much, and suffered much, in his majesty’s 
service. Five bloody and cruel wars have I gone through, 
besides other adventures and experiences, such as become an 
humble subject to suffer meekly and in silence.” 

“ All of which shall be directly communicated to the royal 
ear. And now, worthy friend, relieve your mind by a frank 
communication of your suspicions.” 

“Thanks, honorable sir ; your goodness in my behalf 
cannot be forgotten, though it shall never be said that 
impatience to seek the relief you mention hurried me into a 
light and improper manner of unburdening my mind. You 
must know, honored gentleman, that yesterday, as I sat 
alone, at this very hour, on my board, reflecting in my 
thoughts — for the plain reason that my envious neighbor had 
enticed all the newly-arrived customers to his own shop — 


3 ° 


XTbe 1 Reb 1Ro\>er 


well, sir, the head will be busy when the hands are idle ; there 
I sat, as I have briefly told you, reflecting in my thoughts, 1 
like any other accountable being, on the calamities of life, j 
and on the great experiences that I have had in the wars : 
for you must know, valiant gentleman, besides the affair in I 
the land of the Medes and Persians, and the Porteous mob 
in Kdinbro’, five cruel and bloody — ” 

“ There is that in your air which sufficiently proclaims 
the soldier,” interrupted his listener, who struggled to keep 
down his rising impatience, ‘ ‘ but as my time is so precious, 

I would now more especially hear what you have to say 
concerning yonder ship.” 

“Yes, sir, one gets a military look after seeing number- 
less wars ; and so, happily for the need of both, I have now 
come to the part of my secret which touches more particu- 
larly on the character of that vessel. There sat I, reflect- 
ing on the manner in which the strange seamen had been 
deluded by my tonguey neighbor — for, as you should 
know, sir, a desperate talker is that Tape, and a younker 
who has seen but one war at the utmost — therefore, was I 
thinking of the manner in which he had enticed my lawful 
customers from my shop, when, as one thought is the father 
of another, the following concluding reasoning, as our pious 
priest has it weekly in his reviving and searching discourses, 
came uppermost in my mind : if these mariners were honest 
and conscientious slavers, would they overlook a laboring 
man with a large family, to pour their well-earned gold into 
the lap of a common babbler ? I proclaimed to myself at 
once, sir, that they would not. I was bold to say the same 
in my own mind ; and, thereupon, I openly put the ques- 
tion to all in hearing, if they are not slavers, what are 
they? A question which the king himself would, in his 
royal wisdom, allow to be a question easier asked than an- 
swered ; upon which I replied, if the vessel be no fair-trad- 
ing slaver, nor a common cruiser of his majesty, it is as 
tangible as the best man’s reasoning that she may be neither 
more nor less than the ship of that nefarious pirate the Red 
Rover.” 

‘ ‘ The Red Rover ! ’ * exclaimed the stranger in green, 


Uhc IRefc IRovet 


31 


with a start so natural as to evidence that his dying interest 
in the tailor’s narrative was suddenly and powerfully re- 
vived. “That, indeed, would be a .secret worth having; 
but why do you suppose this ? ” 

For sundry reasons, which I am now about to name in 
their respective order. In the first place, she is an armed 
ship, sir. In the second, she is no lawful cruiser, or the 
same would be publicly known, and by no one sooner than 
myself, inasmuch as it is seldom that I do not finger a 
penny from the king’s ships. In the third place, the bur- 
glarious and unfeeling conduct of the few seamen who have 
landed from her, go to prove it ; and, lastly, what is well 
proved may be considered as substantially established. 
These are what, sir, I should call the opening premises of 
my inferences, all of which I hope you will properly lay 
before the royal mind of his majesty.” 

The barrister in green listened to the somewhat wire- 
drawn deductions of Homespun with great attention, not- 
withstanding the confused and obscure manner in which 
they were delivered by the aspiring tradesman. His keen 
eye rolled quickly and often, from the vessel to the counte- 
nance of his companion ; but several moments elapsed be- 
fore he saw fit to make any reply. The reckless gayety 
with which he had introduced himself, and which he had 
hitherto maintained in the discourse, was entirely super- 
seded by a musing and abstracted air, which sufficiently 
proved that whatever levity he might betray in common, 
he was far from being a stranger on proper occasions 
to deep and becoming thought. Suddenly throwing off 
his air of gravity, however, he assumed one in which 
irony and sincerity were singularly blended, and laying his 
hand familiarly on the shoulder of the expecting tailor, 
he replied, — 

“You have communicated such matter as becometh a 
faithful and loyal servant of the king. It is well known 
that a heavy price is set on the head of the meanest fol- 
lower of the Rover : and that a rich, ay, a splendid reward 
will be the fortune of him who is the instrument of deliver- 
ing the whole knot of miscreants into the hands of the exe- 


32 


Ube IReb IRover 


cutioner. Indeed, I know not but some marked evidence 
of the royal pleasure might follow such a service. There 
was Phipps, a man of humble origin, who received knight- 
hood — ’ ’ 

“ Knighthood ! ” echoed the tailor, in awful admiration. 

“ Knighthood,” coolly repeated the stranger ; “ honorable 
and chivalric knighthood. What may have been the appel- 
lation you received from your sponsors in baptism ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ My given name, gracious and grateful sir, is Hector. ’ ’ 

“And the house itself? — the distinctive appellation of 
the family ? ’ * 

“ We have always been called Homespun.” 

“ Sir Hector Homespun will sound as well as another. 
But to secure these rewards, my friend, it is necessary to 
be discreet. I admire your ingenuity, and am a perfect 
convert to your logic. You have so entirely demonstrated 
the truth of your own suspicions, that I have no more 
doubt of yonder vessel being the pirate, than I have of your 
wearing spurs, and being called Sir Hector. The two 
things are equally established in my mind ; but it is needful 
that we proceed in the matter with caution. I understand 
you to say that no one else has been enlightened by your 
erudition in this affair ? ’ * 

“Not a soul. Tape would swear that the crew were 
conscientious slavers.” 

‘ ‘ So best. We must first render conclusions certain ; 
then to our reward. Meet me at the hour of eleven this 
night, at yonder low point, where the land juts into the 
outer harbor. From that stand will we make our observa- 
tions ; and having removed every doubt, let the morning 
produce a discovery that shall ring from the Colony of the 
Bay to the settlements of Oglethorpe ; until then we part, 
for it is not wise that we be longer seen in conference. 
Remember silence, punctuality, and the favor of the king. 
These are our watch wards. ’ ’ 

“ Adieu, honorable gentleman,” said his companion, mak- 
ing a reverence nearly to the earth, as the other slightly 
touched his hat in passing. 

“Adieu, Sir Hector,” returned the stranger in green, 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


33 


with an affable smile, and a gracious wave of the hand. 
He then walked slowly up the wharf, and disappeared 
behind the mansion of the Homespuns, leaving the head 
of that ancient family, like many a predecessor and many 
a successor, so rapt in the admiration of his own good 
fortune, and so blinded by his folly, that, while physically 
he saw to the right and to the left as well as ever, his 
mental vision was completely obscured in the clouds of 
ambition. 

3 




CHAPTER III. 

u Alonzo . Good boatswain, have care.” 

Tempest. 

T HE instant the stranger had separated from the 
credulous tailor, he lost his assumed air in one 
more natural and sedate. Still it would seem that 
thought was an unwonted or an unwelcome ten- 
ant of his mind, for, switching his boot with his little riding- 
whip, he entered the principal street of the place with a 
light step and a wandering eye. Though his look was un- 
settled, few of the individuals whom he passed escaped his 
quick glances ; and it was quite apparent, from the hurried 
manner in which he began to regard objects, that his mind 
was not less active than his body. A stranger thus ac- 
coutred, and one bearing about his person so many evi- 
dences of his recent acquaintance with the road, did not 
fail to attract the attention of the provident publicans we 
have had occasion to mention in our opening chapter. De- 
clining the civilities of the most favored of the innkeepers, 
he suffered his steps to be oddly enough arrested by the one 
whose house was the usual haunt of the hangers-on of the 
port. 

On entering the bar-room of this tavern, as it was called, 
but which in another country would probably have aspired 
to be termed no more than a pot-house, he found the 
hospitable apartment thronged with its customary revellers. 
A slight interruption was produced by the appearance of a 
guest who was altogether superior in mien and attire to the 
ordinary customers of the house, but it ceased the moment 
the stranger had thrown himself on a bench, and intimated 

34 


Ube IReb iRover 


35 


to the host the nature of his wants. As the latter furnished 
the required draught, he made a sort of apology, which was 
intended for the ears of all his customers nigh the stranger, 
for the manner in which an individual, in the farther end 
of the long narrow room, not only monopolized the dis- 
course, but appeared to extort the attention of all within 
hearing to some portentous legend he was recounting. 

“ It is the boatswain of the slaver in the outer harbor, 
squire,” the worthy minister of Bacchus concluded; “a 
man who has followed the water many a day, and who has 
seen sights and prodigies enough to fill a smart volume. 
Old Bor’ us the people call him, though his lawful name is 
Jack Nightingale. Is the toddy to the squire’s relish ? ” 

The stranger assented to the latter query by smacking 
his lips and bowing, as he put down the nearly untouched 
draught. He then turned his head to examine the in- 
dividual who might, by the manner in which he declaimed, 
have been termed, in the language of the country, another 
“ orator of the day.” 

A stature which greatly exceeded six feet, enormous 
whiskers, that quite concealed a moiety of his grim counte- 
nance ; a scar, which was the memorial of a badly-healed 
gash, that had once threatened to divide that moiety in 
quarters ; limbs in proportion ; the whole rendered striking 
by the dress of a seaman ; a long, tarnished silver chain, 
and a little whistle of the same metal, served to render the 
individual in question sufficiently remarkable. Without 
appearing to be in the smallest degree aware of the entrance 
of one altogether so superior to the class of his usual audi- 
tors, this son of the ocean continued his narrative as follows, 
and in a voice that seemed given to him by nature in very 
mockery of his musical name ; indeed, so very near did his 
tones approach to the low murmurings of a bull, that some 
little practice was necessary to accustom the ear to the 
strangely uttered words. 

“Well,” he continued, thrusting his brawny arm forth, 
with the fist clenched, indicating the necessary point of the 
compass by the thumb : “the coast of Guinea might have 
lain hereaway, and the wind, you see, was dead off shore, 


36 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


blowing in squalls, as a cat spits, all the same as if the old 
fellow who keeps it bagged for the use of us seamen, some- 
times let the stopper slip through his fingers, and was some- 
times fetching it up again with a double turn round the end 
of his sack. You know what a sack is, brother ? ” 

This abrupt question was put to the gaping bumpkin 
already known to the reader, who, with the nether gar- 
ment just received from the tailor under his arm, had 
lingered to add the incidents of the present legend to the 
stock of lore that he had already obtained for the ears 
of his kinsfolk in the country. A general laugh, at the 
expense of the admiring Pardon, succeeded. Nightingale 
bestowed a knowing wink on one or two of his familiars, 
and profiting by the occasion “to freshen his nip,” as he 
quaintly styled swallowing a pint of rum and water, he 
continued his narrative, by saying in a sort of admonitory 
tone, — 

“ And the time may come when you will know what a 
round-turn is, too, if you let go your hold of honesty. A 
man’s neck was made, brother, to keep his head above 
water, and not to be stretched out of shape like a pair of 
badly fitted dead-eyes. Therefore, have your reckoning 
worked up in season, and the lead of conscience going, 
when you find yourself drifting on the shoals of tempta- 
tion.” Then rolling his tobacco in his mouth, he looked 
boldly about him, like one who had acquitted himself of a 
moral obligation, and continued: “Well, there lay the 
land, and, as I was saying, the wind was here, at east-and- 
by-south, or mayhap at east-and-by-south-half-south, some- 
times blowing like a fin-back in a flurry, and sometimes 
leaving all the canvas chafing ag’in the rigging and spars, 
as if a bolt of duck cost no more than a rich man’s blessing. 
I did n’t like the looks of the weather, seeing that there was 
altogether too much unsartainty for a quiet watch, so I 
walked aft, in order to put myself in the way of giving an 
opinion, if-so-be such a thing should be asked. You must 
know, brothers, that, according to my notions of religion 
and behavior, a man is not good for much unless he has a 
full share of manners ; therefore I am never known to put 


Ube IReb IRover 


37 


my spoon in the captain’s mess unless I am invited, for the 
plain reason that my berth is for’ard and his ’n aft. I do 
not say in which end of a ship the better man is to be 
found ; that is a matter concerning which there are differ- 
ent opinions, though most good judges in the business are 
agreed. But aft I walked, to put myself in the way of 
giving an opinion, if one should be asked ; nor was it long 
before the thing came to pass just as I had foreseen. 

‘ Mister Nightingale,’ says he — for our captain is a gentle- 
man, and never forgets his behavior on deck, or when any 
of the ship’s company are at hand — ‘ Mister Nightingale,’ 
says he, ‘ what do you think of that rag of a cloud, here- 
away at the northwest?’ says he. ‘Why, sir,’ says I, 
boldly, for I am never backward in speaking when properly 
spoken to — so, ‘why, sir,’ says I, ‘saving your honor’s 
better judgment,’ — which was all a flam, for he was but a 
chicken to me in years and experience ; but then I never 
throw hot ashes to windward, or anything else that is warm 
— so, ‘ sir,’ says I, ‘ it is my advice to hand the three top- 
sails and to stow the jib. We are in no hurry ; for the plain 
reason, that Guinea will be to-morrow just where Guinea 
is to-night. As for keeping the ship steady in these mat- 
ters of squalls, we have the mainsail on her — ’” 

“ You should have furled your mainsail too,” exclaimed a 
voice from behind, that was quite as dogmatical, though a 
little less grum than that of the loquacious boatswain. 

‘‘What know-nothing says that?” demanded Nightin- 
gale, fiercely, all his latent ire being excited by so rude and 
daring an interruption. 

“ A man who has run Africa down, from Bon to Good 
Hope, more than once, and who knows a white squall from 
a rainbow,” returned Dick Fid, edging his short person 
stoutly towards his furious adversary, and making his way 
through the crowd by which the important boatswain was 
environed, by dint of his massive shoulders. “ Ay, brother, 
and a man, know-much or know-nothing, who would never 
advise his officer to keep so much after-sail on a ship, when 
there was the likelihood of the wind taking her aback.” 

To this bold vindication of an opinion which all present 


38 


Ube IReb IRover 


deemed to be so audacious, there succeeded a general and 
loud murmur. Encouraged by this evidence of his popular- 
ity, Nightingale was not slow, nor very meek with his re- 
tort ; and then followed a clamorous concert, in which the 
voices of the company in general served for the higher and 
shriller notes, and through which the bold and vigorous as- 
sertions, contradictions, and opinions of the two principal 
disputants were heard running in a sort of thorough-bass. 

For some time no part of the discussion was very dis- 
tinct, so great was the confusion of tongues ; and there were 
certain symptoms of an intention, on the part of Fid and 
the boatswain, to settle their controversy by the last appeal. 
During this moment of suspense, the former squared his 
firm-built frame in front of his gigantic opponent, and there 
were very vehement passings and counterpassings in the 
way of gestures from four athletic arms, each of which was 
knobbed, like a fashionable rattan, with a lump of bones, 
knuckles, and sinews, that threatened annihilation to any- 
thing that should oppose it. As the general clamor, how- 
ever, gradually abated, the chief reasoners began to be 
heard ; and as if content to rely on their respective powers 
of eloquence, each gradually relinquished his hostile attitude, 
and appeared disposed to maintain his ground by a member 
scarcely less terrible than his brawny arm. 

“You are a bold seaman, brother,” said Nightingale, re- 
suming his seat, ‘ ‘ and, if saying was doing, no doubt you 
would make a ship talk. But I, who have seen fleets of 
two- and three-deckers — and that of all nations, except 
your Mohawks, mayhap, whose cruisers I will confess never 
to have fallen in with — lying as snug as so many white 
gulls, under reefed mainsails, know how to take the strain 
off a ship, and to keep my bulkheads in their places.” 

“I deny the judgment of heaving- to a boat under her 
after square-sails,” retorted Dick. “ Give her the stay-sails, 
if you will, and no harm done ; but a true seaman will 
never get a bagful of wind between his mainmast and his 
lee-swifter, if-so-be he knows his business. But words are 
like thunder, which only rumbles aloft without ever striking, 
as I have yet seen ; let us therefore put the question to 


XTbe IRefc TRovev 


39 


some one who has been on the water, and who knows a 
little of life and of ships as well as ourselves.” 

“ If the oldest admiral in his majesty’s fleet was here, he 
wouldn’t be backward in saying who is right and who is 
wrong. I say, brothers, if there is a man among you all 
who has had the advantage of a sea education, let him speak, 
in order that the truth of this matter may not be hid like a 
marlingspike jammed between a brace-block and a yard.” 

“Here, then, is the man,” returned Fid; and, stretching 
out his arm, he seized Scipio by the collar, and drew him 
without ceremony into the centre of the circle that had 
opened around the two disputants. “ There is a man for 
you, who has made one more voyage between this and 
Africa than myself, for the reason that he was bom there. 
Now, answer as if you were hallooing from a lee-earing, 
S’ ip : under what sail would you heave-to a ship on the coast 
of your native country, with the danger of a white squall at 
hand ? ” 

“I no heave ’em to,” said the black, “ I make ’em scud.” 

“ Ay, boy ; but to be in readiness for the puff, would you 
jam her up under the mainsail, or let her lie a little off 
under a fore course ? ” 

“ Any fool know dat,” returned Scipio, grumly, and evi- 
dently tired already of being thus catechised. “ If you 
want ’em to fall off, how you’m expect, in reason, he do it 
under a main course ? You answer me dat, Misser Dick.” 

“ Gentlemen,” said Nightingale, looking about him with 
an air of offended dignity, “I put it to your honors, is it 
genteel behavior to bring a nigger, in this out-of-the-way 
fashion, to give an opinion in the teeth of a white man ? ’ ’ 

This appeal to the prejudices of the company was an- 
swered by a common murmur. Scipio, who was prepared 
to maintain, and would have maintained, his professional 
opinion, after his positive and peculiar manner, against any 
disputant, had not the heart to resist so general an evidence 
of the impropriety of his presence. Without uttering a 
word in vindication or apology, he folded his arms and 
walked out of the house, with the submission and meekness 
of one who had been too long trained in humility to rebel. 


40 


XTbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


This desertion on the part of his companion was not, how- 
ever, so quietly acquiesced in by Fid, who found himself thus 
unexpectedly deprived of the testimony of the black. He 
loudly remonstrated against his retreat ; but finding it in 
vain, he crammed the end of several inches of tobacco into 
his mouth, swearing, as he followed the African, and keep- 
ing his eye at the same time firmly fastened on his adver- 
sary, that, in his opinion, “ the lad, if he was fairly skinned, 
would be found to be the whiter man of the two. ’ ’ 

The triumph of the boatswain was now complete ; nor 
was he at all sparing of his exultation. 

“ Gentlemen/’ he said, addressing himself with increased 
confidence to the motley audience who surrounded him, “you 
see that reason is like a ship bearing down with studding- 
sails on both sides, leaving a straight wake and no favors. 
Now, I scorn boasting, nor do I know who the fellow is 
that has just sheered off in time to save his character; but 
this I will say, that the man is not to be found, between 
Boston and the West Indies, who knows better than myself 
how to make a ship walk, or how to make her stand still, 
provided I — ’’ 

The deep voice of Nightingale became suddenly hushed, 
and his eye was riveted, by a sort of enchantment, on the 
keen glance of the stranger in green, whose countenance 
was now seen blended among the more vulgar faces of the 
crowd. 

“ Mayhap,” continued the boatswain, swallowing his 
words, in the surprise of seeing himself unexpectedly con- 
fronted by so imposing an eye, “mayhap this gentleman 
has some knowledge of the sea, and can decide the matter 
in dispute.” 

“ We do not study naval tactics at the universities,” re- 
turned the other, briskly ; “ though I will confess from the 
little I have heard, I am altogether in favor of scudding .” 

He pronounced the latter word with an emphasis which 
rendered it questionable if he did not mean to pun ; the 
more especially as he threw down his reckoning, and in- 
stantly left the field to the quiet possession of Nightingale. 
The latter, after a short pause, resumed his narrative, 


XTbe 1 Refc IRover 


41 


though, either from weariness or some other cause, it was 
observed that his voice was far less positive than before, and 
that his tale was cut prematurely short. After completing 
his narrative and his grog, he staggered to the beach, 
whither a boat was shortly after despatched to convey him 
on board the ship, which, during all this time, had not 
ceased to be the constant subject of the suspicious examina- 
tion of the good-man Homespun. 

In the meanwhile, the stranger in green had pursued his 
walk along the main street of the town. Fid had given 
chase to the disconcerted Scipio, grumbling as he went, and 
uttering no very delicate remarks on the knowledge and sea- 
manship of the boatswain. They soon joined company 
again, the former changing his attack to the negro, whom 
he liberally abused for abandoning a point which he main- 
tained was as simple and as true as ‘ ‘ that yonder bit of a 
schooner would make more way, going wing-and-wing, than 
jammed up on a wind.” 

Probably diverted with the touches of peculiar character 
he had detected in this singular pair of confederates, or 
possibly led by his own wayward humor, the stranger fol- 
lowed their footsteps. After turning from the water, they 
mounted a hill, the latter a little in the rear of his pilots, 
until he lost sight of them in a bend of the street, or rather 
road ; for, by this time, they were past even the little sub- 
urbs of the town. Quickening his steps, the barrister, as he 
had announced himself to be, was glad to catch a glimpse 
of the two worthies seated under a fence, several minutes 
after he had believed them lost. They were making a 
frugal meal from the contents of a little bag, which the 
white had borne under his arm, portions from which he now 
dispensed liberally to his companion, who had taken his 
post sufficiently nigh to proclaim that perfect amity was re- 
stored, though still a little in the background, in deference 
to the superior condition which the other enjoyed in favor of 
his color. Approaching the spot, the stranger observed, — 

‘ ‘ If you make so free with the bag, my lads, your third 
man may have to go supperless to bed.” 

“ Who hails? ” said Dick, looking up from his bone, with 


42 


Ube IReb IRover 


an expression much like that of a mastiff when engaged at a 
similar employment. 

“ I merely wished to remind you that you had another 
messmate,” cavalierly returned the other. 

“Will you take a cut, brother? ” said the seaman, offer- 
ing the bag, with the liberality of a sailor, the moment he 
fancied there was an indirect demand made on its contents. 

“You still mistake my meaning ; on the wharf you had 
another companion.” 

“ Ay, ay ; he is in the offing there, overhauling that bit 
of a light-house, which is badly enough moored, unless they 
mean it to show the channel to your ox-teams and inland 
traders ; hereaway, gentleman, where you see that pile of 
stones, which seems likely to be coming down shortly by- 
the-run.” 

The stranger looked in the direction indicated by the 
other, and saw the young mariner to whom he had alluded, 
standing at the foot of a ruined tower, which was crumbling 
under the slow operations of time, at no great distance from 
the place where he stood. Throwing a handful of small 
change to the seamen, he wished them a better meal, and 
crossed the fence, with an apparent intention of examining 
the ruin also. 

“The lad is free with his coppers,” said Dick, suspend- 
ing the movements of his teeth, to give the stranger another 
and a better look ; ‘ ‘ but, as they will not grow where he 
has planted them, S’ ip, you may turn them over to my 
pocket. An off-handed and a free-handed chap that, Africa ; 
but then these law-dealers get all their pence from the devil, 
but they are sure of more when the shot begins to run low 
in the locker. ’ ’ 

leaving the^egro to collect the money, and to transfer 
it, as in duty bound, to the hands of him who, if not his 
master, was at all times ready and willing to exercise the 
authority of one, we shall follow the stranger in his walk 
toward the tottering edifice. There was little about the 
ruin itself to attract the attention of one who, from his 
assertions, had probably often enjoyed the opportunities of 
examining far more imposing remains of former ages, on 


Qbe IRefc IRover 


43 


the other side of the Atlantic. It was a small circular 
tower, which stood on rude pillars, connected by arches, and 
might have been constructed, in the infancy of the country, 
as a place of defence, though it is far more probable that it 
was a work of a less warlike nature. More than half a 
century after the period of which we are writing, this little 
edifice, peculiar in its form, its ruinous condition, and its 
materials, has suddenly become the study and the theme of 
that very learned sort of individual, the American antiqua- 
rian. It is not surprising that a ruin thus honored should 
have become the object of divers hot and erudite discussions. 
While the chivalrous in the arts and in the antiquities of 
the country have been gallantly breaking their lances around 
the mouldering walls, the less instructed and the less zealous 
have regarded the combatants with the same species of 
wonder as they would have manifested had they been pres- 
ent when the renowned knight of La Mancha tilted against 
those other windmills, so ingeniously described by the im- 
mortal Cervantes. 

On reaching the place, the stranger in green gave his 
boot a smart blow with the riding- whip, as if to attract 
the attention of the abstracted j^oung sailor, freely com- 
mencing a conversation at the same time, like one who was 
a regular companion, rather than an intruder on the other’s 
time. 

“ A very pretty object this would be, if covered with ivy, 
to be seen peeping through an opening in a wood,” he said. 

‘ ‘ But I beg pardon ; gentlemen of your profession have 
little to do with woods and crumbling stones. Yonder is 
the tower” — pointing to the masts of the ship in the outer 
harbor — “you love to look on ; and your only ruin is a 
wreck ! ’ ’ 

“ You seem familiar with our tastes, sir,” coldly returned 
the seaman. 

“It is by instinct, then ; for it is certain I have had but 
little opportunity of acquiring my knowledge by actual 
communion with any of the — cloth ; nor do I perceive 
that I am likely to be more fortunate at present. Let us 
be frank, my friend, and talk in amity. What do you see 


44 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


about this pile of stones, that can keep you so long from 
your study of yonder noble and gallant ship ? ’ ’ 

“ Did it then surprise you that a seaman out of employ- 
ment should examine a vessel that he finds to his mind, 
perhaps with an intention to ask for service ? ’ ’ 

“ Her commander must be a dull fellow, if he refuses it to 
bo proper a lad ! But you seem to be too well instructed 
for any of the meaner berths.” 

“ Berths ! ” repeated the other, again fastening his eyes, 
with a singular expression, on the stranger in green. 

“Berths! It is your nautical word for ‘situation,’ or 
‘ station,’ is it not? We know but little of the marine vo- 
cabulary, we barristers ; but I think I may venture on that 
as the true Doric. Am I justified by your authority ? ” 

‘ ‘ The word is certainly not yet obsolete ; and, by a figure, 
I may venture to say, it is as certainly correct in the sense 
you used it.” 

“Obsolete!” repeated the stranger in green, returning 
the meaning look he had just received. “ Is that the 
name of any part of a ship? Perhaps, by figure , you 
mean figure-head ; and, by obsolete , the long-boat? ” 

The young seaman laughed ; and, as if this sally had 
broken through the barrier of his reserve, his manner lost 
some of its restraint during the remainder of their confer- 
ence. 

“ It is just as plain,” he said, “ that you have been at sea, 
as it is that I have been at school. Since we have both 
been so fortunate, we may afford to be generous, and cease 
speaking in parables. For instance, what do you think has 
been the object and use of this ruin, when it was in better 
condition than it is at present ? ” 

“ In order to judge of that,” returned the stranger in 
green, “ it may be necessary to examine it more closely. 
Tet us ascend.” 

As he spoke, the barrister mounted, by a crazy ladder, to 
the floor which lay just above the crown of the arches, 
through which he passed by an open trap-door. His com- 
panion hesitated to follow ; but observing that the other 
expected him at the summit of the ladder, and that he very 


Zhc IRefc 1Rov>er 


45 


kindly pointed out a defective round, lie sprang forward, 
and went up the ascent with the agility and steadiness 
peculiar to his calling. 

“Here we are,” exclaimed the stranger in green, looking 
about at the naked walls, which were formed of such small 
and irregular stones as to give the building the appearance 
of dangerous frailty, “with good oaken plank for our deck, 
as you would say, and the sky for our roof, as we call the 
upper part of a house at the universities. Now let us speak 
of things on the lower world. A — a — ; I forget what 
you said was your usual appellation.” 

‘ ‘ That might depend on circumstances. I have been 
known by different names in different situations. However, 
if you call me Wilder, I shall not fail to answer.” 

“Wilder! a good name: though, I dare say, it would 
have been as true were it Wild-one. You young ship-boys 
have the character of being a little erratic in your humors. 
How many tender hearts have you left to sigh for your 
errors, amid shady bowers, while you have been ploughing 
— that is the word, I believe — ploughing the salt-sea 
ocean ? ’ ’ 

“ Few sigh for me,” returned Wilder, thoughtfully, who 
began to chafe under this free sort of catechism. ‘ ‘ Let us 
return to our study of the tower. What think you has 
been its object ? ” 

“Its present use is plain, and its former use can be no 
great mystery. It holds at this moment two light hearts ; 
and, if I am not mistaken, as many light heads, not over- 
stocked with the stores of wisdom. Formerly it had its 
graneries of corn, at least, and, I doubt not, certain little 
quadrupeds, who were quite as light of fingers as we are of 
head and heart. In plain English, it has been a mill.” 

4 4 There are those who think it has been a fortress . 5 ’ 

44 Hum ! The place might do, at need,” returned he in 
green, casting a rapid and peculiar glance around him. 
“ But mill it has been, notwithstanding one might wish it 
a nobler origin. The windy situation, the pillars to keep 
off the invading vermin, the shape, the air, the very 
complexion, prove it. Whir-r-r, whir-r-r ; there has been 


4 6 


XTbe IRefc IROver 


clatter enough here in time past, I warrant you. Hist ! It 
is not done yet ! ” 

Stepping lightly to one of the little perforations which 
had once served as windows to the tower, he cautiously 
thrust his head through the opening ; and, after gazing there 
half a minute, he withdrew it again, making a gesture to 
the attentive Wilder to be silent. The latter complied; 
nor was it long before the nature of the interruption was 
sufficiently explained. 

The silvery voice of woman was first heard at a little 
distance ; and then, as the speakers drew nigher, the sounds 
arose directly from beneath, within the very shadow of the 
tower. By a sort of tacit consent, Wilder and the barrister 
chose spots favorable to the execution of such a purpose, 
and each continued during the time the visitors remained 
near the ruin, examining their persons, unseen themselves, 
and — we are sorry we must do so much violence to the 
breeding of two such important characters in our legend — 
amused and attentive listeners to their conversation. 





CHAPTER IV. 

“ They fool me to the top of my bent.” 

Hamlet. 

T HE party below consisted of four individuals, all of 
whom were females. One was a lady in the de- 
cline of her years ; another was past the middle 
age ; the third was on the very threshold of what 
is called “life,” as it is applied to intercourse with the 
world ; and the fourth was a negress, who might have seen 
some five-and-twenty revolutions of the seasons. The latter, 
at that time and in that country, of course appeared only in 
the character of an humble, though favored, domestic. 

“And now, my child, that I have given you all the 
advice which circumstances and your own excellent heart 
need,” said the elderly lady, among the first words that 
were distinctly intelligible to the listeners, ‘ ‘ I will change 
the ungracious office to one more agreeable. You will tell 
your father of my continued affection, and of the promise he 
has given, that you are to return once again, before we 
separate for the last time. ’ ’ 

This speech was addressed to the younger female, and 
was apparently received with as much tenderness and sin- 
cerity as it was uttered. The one who was addressed raised 
her eyes, which were glittering with tears she evidently 
struggled to conceal, and answered in a voice that sounded 
in the ears of the two youthful listeners like the notes of 
the siren, so very sweet and musical were its tones. 

“It is useless to remind me of a promise, my beloved 
aunt, which I have so much interest in remembering,” she 
said. ‘ ‘ I hope for even more than you have perhaps dared 


48 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


to wish ; if my father does not return with me in the spring, 
it shall not be for want of urging on my part.” 

“ Our good Wyllys will lend her aid,” returned the aunt, 
smiling and bowing to the third female, with that mixture 
of suavity and form which was peculiar to the stately man- 
ners of the time, and which was rarely neglected when a 
superior addressed an inferior. ‘ ‘ She is entitled to com- 
mand some interest with General Grayson, from her fidelity 
and services.” 

“She is entitled to everything that love and heart can 
give ! ” exclaimed the niece, with a haste and an earnestness 
that proclaimed how willingly she would temper the formal 
politeness of the other by the warmth of her own affection- 
ate manner ; “my father will scarcely refuse her anything.” 

“And have we the assurance of Mrs. Wyllys that she 
will be in our interests ? ’ ’ demanded the aunt, without per- 
mitting her own sense of propriety to be overcome by the 
stronger feelings of her niece; “ with so powerful an ally, 
our league will be invincible.” 

“ I am so entirely of opinion that the salubrious air of this 
healthful island is of great importance to my young charge, 
madam, that, were all other considerations wanting, the little 
I can do to aid your wishes shall be sure to be done.” 

Wyllys spoke with dignity, and perhaps with some por- 
tion of that reserve which distinguished all the communica- 
tions between the wealthy and high-born aunt, and the 
salaried and dependent governess of her brother’s heiress. 
Still her manner was gentle, and the voice, like that of the 
pupil, soft and feminine. 

“We may then consider the victory as achieved, as my 
late husband the rear-admiral was accustomed to say. 
Admiral De I^acey, my dear Mrs. Wyllys, adopted it in early 
life as a maxim, by which all his future conduct was gov- 
erned, and by adhering to which he acquired no small share 
of his professional reputation, that, in order to be successful, 
it was only necessary to be determined one would be so ; a 
noble and inspiriting rule, and one that could not fail to 
lead to those signal results which, as we all know them, I 
need not mention.” 


TTbe TReb IRover 


49 


Wyllys bowed her head in acknowledgment of the truth 
of the opinion, and in testimony of the renown of the de- 
ceased admiral ; but did not think it necessary to make any 
reply. Instead of allowing the subject to occupy her mind 
any longer, she turned to her young pupil, and observed, 
speaking in a voice and with a manner from which every 
appearance of restraint was banished, — 

“ Gertrude, my love, you will have pleasure in returning 
to this charming island, and to these cheering sea-breezes.'’ 

“ And to my aunt ! ” exclaimed Gertrude. “ I wish my 
father could be persuaded to dispose of his estates in Caro- 
lina, and come northward to reside the whole year.” 

“It is not quite as easy for an affluent proprietor to re- 
move as you may imagine, my child,” returned Mrs. De Ea- 
cey. “Much as I wish that some such plan could be 
adopted, I never press my brother on the subject. Besides, 
I am not certain, that if we were ever to make another 
change in the family, it would not be to return home alto- 
gether. It is now more than a century, Mrs. Wyllys, since 
the Graysons came into the colonies, in a moment of dis- 
satisfaction with the government in England. My great- 
grandfather, Sir Everard, was displeased with his second 
son, and the dissension led my grandfather to the province 
of Carolina. But, as the breach has long since been healed, 
I often think my brother and myself may yet return to the 
halls of our ancestors. Much will, however, depend on the 
manner in which we dispose of our treasure on this side of 
the Atlantic.” 

As the really well-meaning, though, perhaps, a little too 
much self-satisfied lady concluded her remark, she glanced 
her eye at the perfectly unconscious subject of the close of 
her speech. Gertrude had, as usual, when her aunt chose 
to favor her governess with any of the family reminiscences, 
turned her head aside, and was now offering her cheek, 
burning with health, and perhaps a little with shame, to the 
cooling influence of the evening breeze. The instant the 
voice of Mrs. De Eacey ceased, she turned hastily to her 
companions; and pointing to a noble-looking ship, whose 
masts, as it lay in the inner harbor, were seen rising above 

4 


5o 


Ube iRefc 1Ro\>er 


the roofs of the town, she exclaimed, glad to change the 
subject in any manner, — 

‘ ‘ And yonder gloomy prison is to be our home, dear Mrs. 
Wyllys, for the next month ! ” 

“ I hope your dislike to the sea has magnified the time,” 
mildly returned her governess; “the passage between this 
place and Carolina has often been made in a much shorter 
period.” 

“ That it has been so done, I can testify,” resumed the 
admiral’s widow, adhering a little pertinaciously to a train 
of thoughts which, once thoroughly awakened in her bosom, 
was not easily diverted into another channel, ‘ ‘ since my late 
estimable and (I feel certain all who hear me will acqui- 
esce when I add) gallant husband once conducted a squad- 
ron of his royal master, from one extremity of his majesty’s 
American dominions to the other, in a time less than that 
named by my niece. It may have made some difference in 
his speed that he was in pursuit of the enemies of his king 
and country ; but still the fact proves that the voyage can 
be made within the month.” 

“There is that dreadful Henlopen, with its sandy shoals 
and shipwrecks on one hand, and that stream they call the 
Gulf, on the other ! ” exclaimed Gertrude, with a shudder 
and a burst of natural terror, which makes timidity some- 
times attractive, when exhibited in the person of youth and 
beauty. “If it were not for Henlopen, and its gales, and 
its shoals, and its gulfs, I could think only of the pleasure 
of meeting my father.” 

Mrs. Wyllys, who never encouraged her pupil in these 
natural weaknesses, however pretty and becoming they 
might appear to other eyes, turned with a steady mien to 
the young lady, and remarked, with a brevity and decision 
that were intended to put the question of fear at rest for- 
ever, — 

“If all the dangers you appear to apprehend existed in 
reality, the passage would not be made daily, or even hourly 
in safety. You have often, madam, come from the Caro- 
linas by sea, in company with Admiral De Tacey ? ’ ’ 

“ Never,” the widow promptly and a little dryly answered. 


Ube IReb iRover 


51 


“ The water never agreed with my constitution, and I have 
always made the journey by land. But then, you know, 
Wyllys, as the consort and relict of a flag-officer, it was not 
seemly that I should be ignorant of naval science. I be- 
lieve there are few ladies in the British empire who are 
more familiar with ships, either singly or in squadron, partic- 
ularly the latter, than myself. This information I have 
naturally acquired, as the companion of an officer whose 
fortune it was to lead fleets. I presume these are matters of 
which you are profoundly ignorant. ’ ’ 

The calm, dignified countenance of Wyllys, on which it 
would seem long cherished and painful recollections had left 
a settled but mild expression of sorrow, that rather tempered 
than destroyed the traces of character which were still re- 
markable in her eye, became clouded for a moment with 
a shade of melancholy. After hesitating, as if willing to 
change the subject, she replied, — 

“ I have not been altogether a stranger to the sea. It 
has been my lot to have made many long, and some peril- 
ous voyages.” 

“Asa mere passenger. But we wives of sailors, only, 
among our sex, can lay claim to any real knowledge of the 
noble profession ! What natural object is there, or can 
there be,” exclaimed the nautical dowager, in a burst of 
professional enthusiasm, ‘ * finer than a stately ship breasting 
the billows, as I have heard the admiral say a thousand 
times, its tafirail ploughing the main, and its cut-water 
gliding after, like a sinuous serpent pursuing its shining 
wake, as a living creature choosing its path on the land, and 
leaving the bone under its fore-foot, a beacon for those that 
follow ? I know not, my dear Wyllys, if I make myself 
intelligible to you, but to my instructed eye, this charming 
description conveys a picture of all that is grand and beau- 
tiful ! ” 

The latent smile of the governess might have betrayed 
that she was imagining the deceased admiral had not been 
altogether devoid of the waggery of his vocation, had not a 
slight noise, which sounded like the rustling of the wind, 
but which in truth was suppressed laughter, proceeded from 


52 


Zhe IReb IRover 


the upper room of the tower. The words, “It is lovely ! ” 
were still on the lips of the youthful Gertrude, who saw 
all the beauty of the picture her aunt had essayed to describe, 
without descending to the humble employment of verbal 
criticism. But her voice became hushed, and her attitude 
that of startled attention. 

“ Did you hear nothing ? ” she said. 

“ The rats have not yet altogether deserted the mill,” was 
the calm reply of Wyllys. 

“ Mill ! my dear Mrs. Wyllys ; will you persist in calling 
this picturesque ruin a mill f ” 

“ However fatal it may be to its charms, in the eyes of 
eighteen, I must call it a mill.” 

“ Ruins are not so plenty in this country, my dear gover- 
ness,” returned her pupil, laughing, while the ardor of her 
eye denoted how serious she was in defending her favorite 
opinion, “as to justify us in robbing them of any little 
claims to interest they may happen to possess.” 

“Then, happier is the country ! Ruins in a land are, 
like most of the signs of decay in the human form, sad evi- 
dences of abuses and passions which have hastened the 
inroads of time. These provinces are like yourself, my Ger- 
trude, in their freshness and their youth, and comparatively, 
in their innocence also. L,et us hope for both a long, a 
useful, and a happy existence.” 

‘ ‘ Thank you for myself and for my country ; but still I 
can never admit this picturesque ruin has been a mill. * ’ 

“Whatever it may have been, it has long occupied its 
present place, and has the appearance of continuing where it 
is much longer, which is more than can be said of our prison, 
as you call yonder stately ship, in which we are so soon to 
embark. Unless my eyes deceive me, madam, those masts 
are moving slowly past the chimneys of the town.” 

“ You are very right, Wyllys. The seamen are towing 
the vessel into the outer harbor, where they will warp her 
fast to the anchors, and thus secure her until they shall be 
ready to unmake their sails, in order to put to sea in the 
morning. This is a manoeuvre often performed, and one 
which the admiral has so clearly explained, that I should 


Ube IReb iRover 


53 


find little difficulty in superintending it in my own person, 
were it suitable to my sex.” 

“This is, then, a hint that all our own preparations are 
not completed. However lovely this spot may seem, Ger- 
trude, we must now leave it, for some months at least.” 

“Yes,” continued Mrs. De Lacey, slowly following the 
footsteps of the governess, who had already moved from 
beneath the ruin, “whole fleets have often been towed to 
their anchors, and there warped, waiting for wind and tide 
to serve. None of our sex know the dangers of the ocean, 
but we who have been bound in the closest of all ties to 
officers of rank and great service ; and none others can 
ever truly enjoy the real grandeur of the ennobling profes- 
sion. A charming object is a vessel cutting the waves with 
her taffrail, and chasing her wake on the trackless waters, 
like a courser that ever keeps in his path, though dashing 
madly on at the very top of his speed ! ’ ’ 

The reply of Mrs. Wyllys was not audible to the covert 
listeners. Gertrude had followed her companions ; but 
when at some little distance from the tower, she paused to 
take a parting look at its mouldering walls. A profound 
stillness succeeded for more than a minute. 

“There is something in that pile of stones, Cassandra,” 
she said to the jet-black maiden at her elbow, “ that could 
make me wish it had been something more than a mill.” 

“There rat in ’em,” returned the literal and simple- 
minded black ; “ you hear what Misse Wyllys say ? ” 

Gertrude turned, laughed, and patted the dark cheek of 
her attendant, with fingers that looked like snow by the 
contrast, as if to chide her for wishing to destroy the pleas- 
ing illusion she would so gladly harbor, and then bounded 
down the hill after her aunt and governess, like a joyous 
and youthful Atalanta. 

The two singularly consorted listeners in the tower stood 
gazing at their respective lookouts, so long as the smallest 
glimpse of the flowing robe of her light form was to be 
seen ; and then they turned to each other, and stood con- 
fronted, the eyes of each endeavoring to read the expression 
of his neighbor’s countenance. 


54 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


‘ * I am ready to make an affidavit before my Lord High 
Chancellor, ’ ’ suddenly exclaimed the barrister, ‘ ‘ that this 
has never been a mill ! ” 

“ Your opinion has undergone a sudden change ! ” 

“ I am open to conviction, as I hope to be a judge. The 
case has been argued by a powerful advocate, and I have 
lived to see my error.” 

“ And yet there are rats in the place.” 

“ Land rats, or water rats ? ” quickly demanded the other, 
giving his companion one of those startling and searching 
glances, which his keen eye had so freely at command. 

“ Both, I believe,” was the caustic reply ; “ certainly the 
former, or the gentlemen of the long robe are much injured 
by report.” 

The barrister laughed ; nor did his temper appear in the 
slightest degree ruffled at so free a hit at his learned and 
honorable profession. 

“You gentlemen of the ocean have such an honest and 
amusing frankness about you,” he said, “ that I vow to God 
you are overwhelming. I am a downright admirer of your 
noble calling, and something skilled in its terms. What 
spectacle, for instance, can be finer than a noble ship 
‘stemming the waves with her taffrail,’ and chasing her 
wake, like a racer on the course ? * ’ 

“Leaving the ‘bone in her mouth’ under her stern, as 
a light-house for all that come after ! ” 

Then, as if they found singular satisfaction in dwelling 
on these images of the worthy relict of the admiral, they 
broke out simultaneously into a fit of clamorous merriment, 
which caused the old ruin to ring, as in its best days of 
windy power. The barrister was the first to regain his 
self-command, for the mirth of the young mariner was joy- 
ous, and without the least restraint. 

“ But this is dangerous ground for any but a seaman’s 
widow to touch,” the former observed, as suddenly causing 
his laughter to cease as he had admitted of its indulgence. 
“ The younger, she who is no lover of a mill, is a rare and 
lovely creature ! it would seem that she is the niece of the 
nautical critic.” 


TLbc IRefc iRover 


55 


The young mariner ceased laughing in his turn, as if he 
were suddenly convinced of the glaring impropriety of mak- 
ing so near a relative of the fair vision he had seen, the 
subject of his merriment. Whatever might have been his 
secret thoughts, he was content with replying, — 

“ She so declared herself.” 

“ Tell me,” said the barrister, walking close to the other, 
like one who communicated an important secret in the 
question, “was there not something remarkable, searching, 
extraordinary, heart-touching, in the voice of her they 
called Wyllys?” 

“ Did you note it? ” 

“ It sounded to me like the tones of an oracle — the 
whisperings of fancy — the very words of truth ! It was 
a strange and persuasive voice ! ’ ’ 

“ I confess I felt its influence, and in a way for which I 
cannot account ! ’ ’ 

“It amounts to infatuation!” returned the barrister, 
pacing up and down the little apartment, every trace of 
humor and irony having disappeared in a look of settled 
and abstracted care. His companion appeared little dis- 
posed to interrupt his meditations, but stood leaning against 
the naked walls, himself the subject of reflection. At 
length the former shook off his air of thought, with that 
startling quickness which seemed common to his man- 
ner ; he approached a window, and directing the attention 
of Wilder to the ship in the outer harbor, abruptly de- 
manded — 

“ Has all your interest in yonder vessel ceased ? ” 

“Far from it; it is just such a boat as a seaman’s eye 
loves to study ! ” 

“ Will you venture to board her? ” 

“At this hour ? — alone? — I know not her commander, 
or her people.” 

“There are other hours beside this, and a sailor is cer- 
tain of a frank reception from his messmates.” 

“These slavers are not always willing to be boarded ; 
they carry arms, and know how to keep strangers at a 
distance.” 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


56 

“ Are there no watchwords in the masonry of your trade, 
by which a brother is known ? Such terms as ‘ stemming 
the waves with the taffrail, ’ for instance, or some of those 
knowing phrases we have lately heard ? ’ ’ 

Wilder kept his own keen look on the countenance of the 
other, as he thus questioned him, and seemed to ponder on 
what he heard before he ventured a reply. 

“ Why do you demand this of me ? ” he coldly asked. 

‘ ‘ Because, as I believe that ‘ faint heart never won fair 
lady,’ so do I believe that indecision never won a ship. You 
wish a situation, you say ; and if I were an admiral, I would 
make you my flag-captain. At the assizes, when we wish a 
brief, we throw out the proper feelers. But perhaps I am 
talking too much at random for an utter stranger. You 
will, however, remember, that though it is the advice of a 
lawyer, it is given gratuitously.” 

“ Is it the more to be relied on for so extraordinary liber- 
ality ? ’ ’ 

“ Of that you must judge for yourself,” said the stranger 
in green, very deliberately putting his foot on the ladder, 
and descending, until no part of his person but his head was 
seen. “ Here I go, literally cutting the waves with my taff- 
rail,” he added, descending backwards, and seeming to take 
pleasure in laying particular emphasis on the words. ‘ ‘Adieu, 
my friend ; if we do not meet again, I enjoin you never to 
forget the rats in the Newport ruin.” 

He disappeared as he concluded, and in another instant 
his light form was on the ground. Turning with the most 
admirable coolness, he gave the bottom of the ladder a trip 
with one of his feet, and laid the only means of descent pros- 
trate on the earth. Then, looking up at the wondering 
Wilder, he nodded his head familiarly, repeated his adieu, 
and passed with a swift step from beneath the arches. 

‘‘This is extraordinary, not to say insolent, conduct,” 
muttered Wilder, who by the process was left a prisoner in 
the ruin. After ascertaining that a fall from the trap might 
endanger his legs, the young sailor ran to one of the win- 
dows of the place, in order to reproach his treacherous com- 
rade, or indeed to assure himself that he was serious in thus 


Ube IReb IRover 


57 


deserting him. The barrister was already out of hailing 
distance, and, before Wilder had time to decide on what 
course to take, his active footsteps had led him into the 
skirts of the town, among the buildings of which his person 
became immediately lost to the eye. 

During all the time occupied by the foregoing scenes and 
dialogue, Fid and the negro were diligently discussing the 
contents of the bag, under the fence where they were last 
seen. As the appetite of the former became appeased, his 
didactic disposition returned, and at the precise moment 
when Wilder was left alone in the tower, he was intently 
engaged in admonishing the black on the delicate subject of 
behavior in mixed society. 

“And so you see, Guinea,” he concluded, “in order to 
keep a weather-helm in company, you are never to throw all 
aback, and go stem foremost out of a dispute, as you have 
this day seen fit to do. According to my l’arning, that 
Master Nightingale is better in a bar-room than in a squall ; 
and if you had just luffed- up on his quarter, when you saw 
me laying myself athwart his hawse in the argument, we 
should have given him a regular j am in the discourse, and 
then the fellow would have been shamed in the eyes of the 
bystanders. Who hails ? what cook is sticking his neigh- 
bor’s pig now ? ” 

“Tor’ ! Misser Fid,” cried the black; “here Masser 
Harry, wid a head out of port-hole, up dereaway in a 
lighthouse, singin’ out like a marine in a boat wid a plug 
out!” 

“ Ay, ay, let him alone for hailing a top-gallant-yard, or 
a flying-jib-boom ! The lad has a voice like a French horn, 
when he has a mind to tune it ! And what the devil is he 
manning the guns of that weather-beaten wreck for? At 
all events, if he has to fight his craft alone, there is no one 
to blame but himself, since he has gone to quarters with- 
out beat of drum, or without in any other manner seeing fit 
to muster his people.” 

As Dick and the negro had both been making the best of 
their way towards the ruin, from the moment they discov- 
ered the situation of their friend, by this time they were 


58 


Uhc IRefc 1Ro\>er 


within speaking distance of the spot itself. Wilder, in those 
brief, pithy tones that distinguish the manner in which a 
sea-officer issues his orders, directed him to raise the ladder. 
When he was liberated, he demanded, with a sufficiently 
significant air, if they had observed the direction in which 
the stranger in green had made his retreat. 

“ Do you mean the chap in boots, who was for shoving 
his oar into another man’s rullock, a bit ago, on the wharf? ” 

“ The very same.” 

“He made a slant on the wind until he had weathered 
yonder bit of a barn, and then he tacked and stretched away 
off here to the east-and-by -south, going large, with studding- 
sails alow and aloft, as I think, for he made a devil of a 
head- way . ’ ’ 

“ Follow ! ” cried Wilder, starting forward in the direction 
indicated by Fid, without waiting to hear any more of the 
other’s explanations. 

The search was vain. Although they continued their in- 
quiries until long after the sun had set, no one could give 
them the smallest tidings of what had become of the stranger 
in green. Some had seen him, and marvelled at his singular 
costume and bold and wandering look ; but, by all accounts, 
he had disappeared from the town as strangely and as mys- 
teriously as he had entered it. 




CHAPTER V. 

u Are you so brave ? I ’ll have you talked with anon.’* 

Coriolanus. 

T HE good people of the town of Newport sought 
their rest at an early hour. They were remark- 
able for that temperance and discretion which, 
even to this day, distinguish the manners of the 
inhabitants of New England. By ten, the door of every 
house in the place was closed for the night ; and it is quite 
probable that, before another hour had passed, scarcely an 
eye was open, among all those which had been sufficiently 
alert, throughout the day, not only in superintending the 
interests of their proper owners, but in bestowing wholesome 
glances at the concerns of the rest of the neighborhood. 

The landlord of the “Foul Anchor,” as the inn, where 
Fid and the Nightingale had so nearly come to blows, was 
called, scrupulously closed his doors at eight ; a sort of ex- 
piation by which he endeavored to atone, while he slept, for 
any moral peccadilloes that he might have committed dur- 
ing the day. Indeed, it was to be observed as a rule, that 
those who had the most difficulty in maintaining their good 
name, on the score of temperance and moderation, were the 
most rigid in withdrawing, in season, from the daily cares 
of the world. The admiral’s widow had given no little 
scandal, in her time, because lights were so often seen burn- 
ing in her house long after the hour prescribed by custom 
for their extinction. There were several other little partic- 
ulars in which this good lady had also rendered herself 
obnoxious to the whispered remarks of some of her female 
visitants. An Episcopalian herself, she was always observed 
to be employed with her needle on the evenings of Satur- 

59 


6o 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


days, though by no means distinguished for her ordinary in- 
dustry. It was, however a sort of manner the good lady 
had of exhibiting her adherence to the belief that the night 
of Sunday was the orthodox evening of the Sabbath. On 
this subject there was, in truth, a species of silent warfare 
between her and the wife of the principal clergyman of the 
town. It resulted, happily, in no very striking marks of 
hostility. The latter was content to retaliate, by bringing 
her work, on the evenings of Sundays, to the house of the 
dowager, and occasionally interrupting their discourse, by a 
diligent application of the needle for some five or six min- 
utes at a time. Against this contamination Mrs. De Lacey 
took no other precaution than to play with the leaves of a 
prayer-book, precisely on the principle that one uses holy 
water to keep the devil at that distance which the church 
has considered safest for its proselytes . 1 

Let these matters be as they would, by ten o’clock on 
the night of the day our tale commences, the town of New- 
port was as still as if it did not contain a living soul. 
Watchmen there were none ; for roguery had not yet be- 
gun to thrive openly in the provinces. When, therefore, 
Wilder and his two companions issued at that hour from 
their place of retirement into the empty streets, they found 
them as still as if man had never trod there. Not a candle 
was to be seen, nor the smallest evidence of human life to be 
heard. It would seem our adventurers knew their errand 

1 The Puritans believed that the Sabbath commenced with the set- 
ting of the sun on Saturday, and ended at the same hour on Sunday. 
Thus the latter evening throughout all New England was, and in 
some measure is still, more observed as a fete, than as a time of wor- 
ship, while the preceding evening is respected with the most rigid 
observances. The writer once had a discussion on this point with a 
New England divine. The latter had no very high Biblical authority 
for the usage ; but he very justly remarked, that there was something 
consolatory and grand in the idea that the whole of Christendom w T as 
keeping holy the Sabbath at precisely the same moment ! It is 
scarcely necessary to add, that this opinion, besides the fact that the 
usage was confined to a sect or sects, was met by the objection, that 
as we proceed east or west, there is a known difference in time to 
defeat the calculation. 


TTbe iReb iRover 


61 


well ; for instead of knocking up any of the drowsy pub- 
licans to demand admission, they held their way steadily to 
the water’s side ; Wilder leading, Fid coming next, and 
Scipio, in conformity to all usage, bringing up the rear, in 
his ordinary, quiet, submissive manner. 

At the margin of the water they found several small 
boats, moored under the shelter of a neighboring wharf. 
Wilder gave his companions their directions, and walked to 
a place convenient for embarking. After waiting the nec- 
essary time, the bows of two boats came to the land at the 
same moment, one of which was governed by the hands of 
the negro, and the other by those of Fid. 

‘ ‘ How ’s this ? ’ ’ demanded Wilder ; “is not one enough ? 
There is some mistake between you. ’ ’ 

“ No mistake at all,” responded Dick, suffering his oar to 
float on its blade, and running his fingers into his hair, con- 
tent with his achievement ; “no more mistake than there 
is in taking the sun on a clear day and in smooth water. 
Guinea is in the boat you hired ; but a bad bargain you 
made of it, as I thought at the time : and so, as ‘ better late 
than never’ is my rule, I have just been casting an eye 
over all the craft ; if this is not the tightest and fastest row- 
ing clipper of them all, then am I no judge ; and yet the 
parish priest would tell you, if he were here, that my father 
was a boat-builder, ay, and swear it too ; that is to say, if 
you paid him well for the same.” 

“Fellow,” returned Wilder, angrily, “you will one day 
induce me to turn you adrift. Take the boat to the place 
where you found it, and see it secured as before.” 

“ Turn me adrift ! ” deliberately repeated Fid, “ that 
would be cutting all your weather lanyards at one blow, 
Master Harry. Tittle good would come of Scipio Africa 
and you, after I should part company. Have you ever 
fairly logged the time we have sailed together ? ’ ’ 

“Ay, have I; but it is possible to break even a friend- 
ship of twenty years.” 

“ Saving your presence, Master Harry, I ’ll be d d if 

I believe any such thing. Here is Guinea, who is no better 
“than a nigger, and therein far from being a fitting mess- 


6 2 


Zhe IRefc IRover 


mate to a white man ; but, being used to look at bis black 
face for four-and-twenty years, d’ ye see, the color has gotj 
into my eye, and now it suits as well as another. Then, at j 
sea, in a dark night, it is not so easy a matter to tell the; 
difference. I am not tired of you yet, Master Harry, and 
it is no trifle that shall part us.” 

“Then, abandon your habit of making free with the 
property of others.” 

“ I abandon nothing. No man can say he ever knowed 
me to quit a deck while a plank stuck to the beams ; and 
shall I abandon, as you call it, my rights ? What is the 
mighty matter, that all hands must be called to see an old 
sailor punished? You gave a lubberly fisherman, a fellow | 
who has never been in deeper water than his own line will 
sound, you gave him, I say, a glittering Spaniard, just for | 
the use of a bit of skiff for the night, or, mayhap, for a 
small reach into the morning. Well, what does Dick do ? 

He says to himself — for d e if he ’s any blab to run i 

round a ship grumbling at his officer — so he just says to 
himself, ‘ That’s too much,’ says he ; and he looks about to 
find the worth of it in some of the fishermen’s neighbors. 
Money can be eaten ; and, what is better, it may be 
drunk ; therefore, it is not to be pitched overboard with the 
cook’s ashes. I ’ll warrant me, if the truth could be fairly 
come by, it would be found that, as to the owners of this 
here yawl and that there skiff, their mothers are cousins, 
and that the dollar will go in snuff and strong drink among 
the whole family — so, no great harm done after all.” 

Wilder made an impatient gesture to the other to obey, 
and walked up the bank, to give him time to comply. Fid 
never disputed a positive and distinct order, though he often 
took so much discretionary latitude in executing those 
which were less precise. He did not hesitate, therefore, to 
return the boat : but he did not carry his subordination so 
far as to do it without complaint. When this act of justice 
was performed, Wilder entered the skiff ; and, seeing that his 
companions were seated at their oars, he bade them pull 
down the harbor, admonishing them, at the same time, to 
make as little noise as possible. 


XTbe IRefc 1Rov>er 


63 


“The night I rowed you into Fouisburg, a-reconnoi- 
tring,” said Fid, thrusting his left hand into his bosom, 
while, with his right, he applied sufficient force to the light 
oar to make the skiff glide swiftly over the water, ‘ ‘ that 
night we muffled everything, even to our tongues. When 
there is occasion to put stoppers on the mouths of a boat’s 
crew, why, I ’m not the man to gainsay it ; but, as I am one 
of them that thinks tongues were just as much made to talk 
with, as the sea was made to live on, I uphold rational con- 
versation in sober society. S’ip, thou Guinea, where the 
devil are you shoving the skiff to ? — hereaway lies the island, 
and you are for going into yonder bit of a church.” 

“ Fay on your oars,” interrupted Wilder ; “let the boat 
drift by this vessel.” 

They were now in the act of passing the ship which had 
been warping from the wharfs to an anchorage, and in which 
the young sailor had so clandestinely heard that Mrs. Wyllys 
and the fascinating Gertrude were to embark, on the follow- 
ing morning, for the distant province of Carolina. As the 
skiff floated past, Wilder examined the vessel, by the dim 
light of the stars, with a seaman’s eye. No part of her hull, 
her spars, or her rigging, escaped his notice ; and, when the 
whole became confounded, by the distance, in one dark 
mass of shapeless matter, he leaned his head over the side 
of his little bark, and mused. To this abstraction Fid pre- 
sumed to offer no interruption. It had the appearance of 
professional duty ; a subject that, in his eyes, was endowed 
with a species of character that might be called sacred. 
Scipio was habitually silent. After losing many minutes in 
this manner, Wilder suddenly regained his recollection, and 
abruptly observed — 

“ It is a tall ship, and one that should make a long 
chase ! ’ ’ 

“ That ’s as may be,” returned the ready Fid. “ Should 
that fellow get a free wind, and his canvas all abroad, it 
might worry a king’s cruiser to get nigh enough to throw 
the iron on his decks ; but jammed up close hauled, why, I ’d 
engage to lay on his weather-quarter with the saucy He — ’ ’ 

“ Boys,” interrupted Wilder, “it is now proper that you 


6 4 


TTbe IRefc IRover 


should know something of my future movements. We have 
been shipmates, I might almost say messmates, for more than 
twenty years. I was no better than an infant, Fid, when 
you brought me to the commander of your ship, and not 
only was instrumental in saving my life, but in putting me 
into a situation to make an officer. ’ ’ 

“Ay, ay, you were no great matter, Master Harry, as to 
bulk ; and a short hammock served your turn as well as the 
captain’s berth.” 

‘ ‘ I owe you a heavy debt, Fid, for that one generous act, 
and something, I may add, for your steady adherence to me 
since.” 

“Why, yes, I’ve been pretty steady in my conduct, 
Master Harry, in this here business, more particularly see- 
ing that I have never let go my grapplings, though you ’ve 
so often sworn to turn me adrift. As for Guinea, here, the 
chap makes fair weather with you, blow high or blow low, 
whereas it is no hard matter to get up a squall between us, 
as might be seen in that small affair about the boat — ’ ’ 

“ Say no more of it,” interrupted Wilder, whose feelings 
appeared sensibly touched, as his recollection ran over long- 
past and bitterly-remembered scenes ; “you know that little 
else than death can part us, unless indeed you choose to 
quit me now. It is right you should know that I am en- 
gaged in a desperate pursuit, and one that may easily end in 
ruin to myself and all who accompany me. I feel reluc- 
tant to separate from you, my friends, for it may be a final 
parting, but, at the same time, you should know all the 
danger.” 

“Is there much more travelling by land?” bluntly de- 
manded Fid. 

“ No ; the duty, such as it is, will be done entirely on the 
water.” 

“ Then bring forth your ship’s books, and find room for 
such a mark as a pair of crossed anchors, which stand for 
all the .same as so many letters reading ‘ Richard Fid.’ ” 

‘ ‘ But perhaps when you know — ’ ’ 

“ I want to know nothing about it, Master Harry. 
Have n’t I sailed with you often enough under sealed orders, 


tlbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


65 


to trust my old body once more in your company, without 
forgetting my duty ? What say you, Guinea ? will you 
ship ? or shall we land you at once, on yonder bit of a low 
point, and leave you to scrape acquaintance with the 
clams ? ” 

“ ’Km berry well off here,” muttered the perfectly con- 
tented negro. 

“ Ay, ay, Guinea is like the launch of one of the coast- 
ers, always towing in your wake, Master Harry ; whereas, I 
am often luffing athwart your hawse, or getting foul, in some 
fashion or other, on one of your quarters. Howsomever, 
we are both shipped, as you see, in this here cruise, with 
the particulars of which we are both well satisfied. So 
pass the word among us what is to be done next, and no 
more parley.” 

“ Remember the cautions you have already received,” 
returned Wilder, who saw that the devotion of his followers 
was too infinite to need quickening, and who knew, from 
long and perilous experience, how implicitly he might rely 
on their fidelity, notwithstanding certain failings, that were 
perhaps peculiar to their condition ; 1 ‘ remember what I 
have already given in charge ; and now pull directly for 
the ship in the outer harbor.” 

Fid and the^lack promptly complied ; and the boat 
was soon skimming the water between the little island, and 
what might, by comparison, be called the main. As they 
approached the vessel, the strokes of the oars were mod- 
erated, and finally abandoned altogether, Wilder pre- 
ferring to let the skiff drop down with the tide upon the 
object he wished well to examine before venturing to board. 

‘ ‘ Has not that ship her nettings triced to the rigging ? ’ 9 
he demanded, in a voice that was lowered to the tones 
necessary to escape observation, and which betrayed, at the 
same time, the interest he took in the reply. 

“ According to my sight, she has,” returned Fid ; “ your 
slavers are a little pricked by conscience, and are never 
over-bold, unless when they are chasing a young nigger on 
the coast of Congo. Now, there is about as much danger 
of a Frenchman’s looking in here to-night, with this land 
5 




66 TLhe IRefc IRover 


breeze and clear sky, as there is of my being made Tord 
High Admiral of England, a thing not likely to come to 
pass soon, seeing that the king don’t know a great deal of 
my merit.” 

‘ ‘ They are, to a certainty, ready to give a warm recep- 
tion to any boarders ! ” continued Wilder, who rarely paid 
much attention to the amplifications with which Fid so 
often saw fit to embellish the discourse. ‘ ‘ It would be no 
easy matter to carry a ship thus prepared, if her people 
were true to themselves. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I warrant ye there is a full quarter-watch at least sleep- 
ing among her guns, at this very moment, with a bright 
lookout from her cat-heads and taffrail. I was once on 
the weather fore-yard-arm of the Hebe, when I made, here- 
away to the southwest, a sail coming large upon us — ’ * 

“ Hist ! they are stirring on her decks ! ” 

“To be sure they are. The cook is splitting a log ; the 
captain has most likely sung out for his night-cap.” 

The voice of Fid was lost in a summons from the ship, 
that sounded like the roaring of some sea-monster, which 
had unexpectedly raised its head above the water. The 
practised ears of our adventurers instantly comprehended it 
to be, what it truly was, the manner in which it was not 
unusual to hail a boat. Without taking time to ascertain 
that the plashing of oars was to be heard in the distance, 
Wilder raised his form in the skiff, and answered. 

‘ ‘ How now ? ’ ’ exclaimed the same strange voice ; 
“there is no one victualled aboard here that speaks thus. 
Whereaway is he that answers ? ” 

“ A little on your larboard bow; here, in the shadow of 
the ship.” 

“ And what are ye about, within the sweep of my 
hawse ? ” 

“Cutting the waves with my taffrail,” returned Wilder, 
after a moment’s hesitation. 

‘ ‘ What fool has broke adrift here ? 5 ’ muttered his inter- 
rogator. “ Pass a blunderbuss forward, and let us see if a 
civil answer can be drawn from the fellow.” 

“ Hold ! ” said a calm, authoritative voice, from the most 


TLhc lRet> iRover 


67 

distant part of the ship it is as it should be ; let them 
approach.” 

The man in the bows of the vessel bade them come 
alongside, and the conversation ceased. Wilder had now 
an opportunity to discover that, as the hail had been in- 
tended for another boat, which was still at a distance, he 
had answered prematurely. But, perceiving that it was 
too late to retreat with safety, or perhaps only acting in 
conformity to his original determination, he directed his 
companions to obey. 

‘‘‘Cutting the waves with the taffrail ’ is, of a surety, 
not the civillest answer a man can give to a hail,” muttered 
Fid, dropping the blade of his oar into the water ; “ nor is 
it matter to be logged, that they have taken offence at the 
same. Howsomever, Master Harry, if they are so minded 
as to make a quarrel about the thing, give them as good as 
they send, and count on manly backers. ’ ’ 

No reply was made to this encouraging assurance ; for, 
by this time, the skiff was within a few feet of the ship. 
Wilder ascended the side of the vessel amid a deep, and, as 
he felt it to be, an ominous silence. The night was dark, 
though enough light fell from the stars, that were here and 
there visible, to render objects sufficiently distinct to the 
eyes of a seaman. When our young adventurer touched 
the deck, he cast a hurried and scrutinizing look about him, 
as if doubts and impressions, which had long been harbored, 
were all to be resolved by that first view. 

An ignorant landsman would have been struck with the 
order and symmetry with which the tall spars rose towards 
the heavens, from the black mass of the hull, and with the 
rigging that hung in the air, one dark line crossing another, 
until all design seemed confounded in the confusion and 
intricacy of the studied maze. But to Wilder these famil- 
iar objects furnished no immediate attraction. His first 
rapid glance had, like that of all seamen, it is true, been 
thrown upward, but it was instantly succeeded by the brief 
though keen examination to which we have just alluded. 
With the exception of one who, though his form was muf- 
fled in a large sea-cloak, seemed to be an officer, not a 


68 


XTbe 1 Reft IRover 


living creature was visible on the decks. On each side was 
a dark, frowning battery, arranged in the beautiful and im- 
posing order of marine architecture ; but nowhere could he 
find a trace of the crowd of human beings which usually 
throng the deck of an armed ship, or that was necessary to 
render the engines effective. It was quite in rule that 
most of her people should be in their hammocks at that 
hour ; but still it was customary to leave a sufficient num- 
ber on the watch, to look to the safety of the vessel. 
Finding himself so unexpectedly confronted with a single 
individual, our adventurer began to be sensible of the awk- 
wardness of his situation, and of the necessity of some 
explanation. 

“ You are no doubt surprised, sir,” he said, “ at the late- 
ness of the hour that I have chosen for my visit.” 

“You were certainly expected earlier,” was the laconic 
answer. 

“ Expected ! ” 

“Ay, expected. Have I not seen you and your two 
companions who are in the boat, reconnoitring us half the 
day from the wharfs of the town, and even from the old 
tower on the hill ? What did all this curiosity foretell, but 
an intention to come on board ? ’ ’ 

“This is odd, I will acknowledge !” exclaimed Wilder, 
in some alarm. “ And, then, you had notice of my inten- 
tions ? ’ ’ 

“ Hark ye, friend,” interrupted the other, indulging in a 
low laugh ; ‘ ‘ from your outfit and appearance, I think I 
am right in calling you a seaman. Do you imagine that 
glasses were forgotten in the inventory of this ship ? or, do 
you fancy that we don’t know how to use them ? ” 

“You must have strong reasons for looking so deeply into 
the movements of strangers on the land ? ’ ’ 

“ Hum ! Perhaps we expect our cargo from the country. 
But I suppose you have not come so far in the dark to look 
at our manifest. You would see the captain ? ” 

“ Do I not see him? ” 

“ Where ? ” demanded the other, with a start that proved 
he stood in salutary awe of his superior. 


XTbe IRefc IRovet 


69 


“ In yourself.” 

“ I ! I have not got so high in the books, though my 
time may yet come some fair day. Hark ye, friend ; you 
passed under the stem of yonder ship, which has been haul- 
ing into the stream, in coming out to us? ” 

“ Certainly ; she lies, as you see, directly in my course.” 

‘ ‘ A wholesome-looking craft that ! and one well found, 
I warrant you. She is quite ready to be off, they tell me.” 

‘ ‘ It would so seem ; her sails are bent, and she floats 
like a ship that is full.” 

‘ ‘ Of what ? ’ ’ abruptly demanded the other. 

“Of articles mentioned in her manifest, no doubt. But 
you seem light yourself ; if you are to load at this port, it 
will be some days before you put to sea.” 

“Hum ! I don’t think we shall be long after our neigh- 
bor,” the other remarked, a little dryly. Then, as if he 
might have said too much, he added hastily, “We slavers 
carry little else, you know, than our shackles and a few 
extra tierces of rice ; the rest of our ballast is made up of 
these guns, and the stuff to put into them.” 

‘ ‘ And is it usual for ships in the trade to carry so heavy 
an armament? ” 

“ Perhaps it is — perhaps not. To own the truth, there is 
not much law on the coast, and the strong arm often does as 
much as the right. Our owners, therefore, I believe, think 
it quite as well there should be no lack of guns and ammu- 
nition on board.” 

“ They should also give you people to work them.” 

“They have forgotten that part of their wisdom, cer- 
tainly.” 

His words were nearly drowned by the same gruff voice 
that had brought-to the skiff of Wilder, which sent another 
hoarse summons across the water, rolling out sounds that 
were intended to say, — 

“ Boat ahoy ! ” 

The answer was quick, short, and nautical ; but it was 
rendered in a low and cautious tone. The individual, with 
whom Wilder had been holding such equivocating parlance, 
seemed embarrassed by the sudden interruption, and a little 


70 


TLhc IRefc IRo vcv 


at a loss to know how to conduct himself. He had already 
made a motion towards leading his visitor to the cabin, j, 
when the sounds of oars were heard clattering in a boat 
alongside of the ship, announcing that he was too late. 
Bidding the other remain where he was, he sprang to the 
gangway, in order to receive those who had just arrived. 

By this sudden desertion, Wilder found himself in entire , 
possession of the part of the vessel where he stood. It gave 
him a better opportunity to renew his examination, and to 
cast a scrutinizing eye over the new-comers. 

Some five or six athletic-looking seamen ascended from 
the boat, in profound silence. A short and whispered con- 
ference took place between them and their officer, who ap- 
peared both to receive a report, and to communicate an 
order. When these preliminary matters were ended, a line 
was lowered from a whip on the main-yard, the end evi- 
dently dropping into the boat. In a moment, the burden 
it was intended to transfer to the ship was seen swinging 
in the air, midway between the water and the spar. It 
then slowly descended, inclining in-board, until it was 
safely, and somewhat carefully, landed on the deck of the 
vessel. 

During the whole of this process, which in itself had 
nothing extraordinary, or out of the daily practice of large 
vessels in port, Wilder had strained his eyes, until they 
appeared nearly ready to start from their sockets. The 
black mass, which had been lifted from the boat, seemed, 
while it lay against the background of sky, to possess the 
proportions of the human form. The seamen gathered 
about this object. After much bustle, and a good deal of 
low conversation, the burden or body, whichever it might 
be called, was raised by the men, and the whole disappeared 
together, behind the masts, boats, and guns, which crowded 
the forward part of the vessel. 

The whole event was of a character to attract the attention 
of Wilder. His eye was not, however, so intently riveted 
on the group in the gangway, as to prevent his detecting a 
dozen black objects, that were suddenly thrust forward, from 
behind the spars and other dark masses of the vessel. They 


Ube IReb IRover 


71 


might be blocks swinging in the air, but they bore also a 
strong resemblance to human heads. The simultaneous 
manner in which they appeared and disappeared served 
to confirm this impression ; nor, to confess the truth, had 
our adventurer any doubt that curiosity had drawn so many 
inquiring countenances from their respective places of con- 
cealment. He had not much leisure, however, to reflect on 
all these accompaniments of his situation, before he was re- 
joined by his former companion, who, to all appearance, 
was again left to himself in entire possession of the deck. 

“You know the trouble of getting off the people from the 
shore,’ * the officer observed, “when a ship is ready to 
sail.” 

“ You seem to have a summary method of hoisting them 
in,” returned Wilder. 

“Ah ! you speak of the fellow on the whip? Your eyes 
are good, friend, to tell a jack-knife from a marlingspike, at 
this distance. But the lad was mutinous ; that is, not 
absolutely mutinous — but drunk. As mutinous as a man 
can well be, who can neither speak, sit, nor stand.” 

Then, as if as well content with his humor as with this 
simple explanation, the other laughed and chuckled in a 
manner that showed he was in perfect good humor with 
himself. 

“But all this time you are left on deck,” he quickly 
added, ‘ ‘ and the captain is waiting your appearance in the 
cabin. Follow ; I will be your pilot.” 

“Hold,” said Wilder; “will it not be as well to an- 
nounce my visit ? ’ ’ 

“He knows it already; little takes place aboard here 
that does not reach his ears before it gets into the log- 
book.” 

Wilder made no further objection, but indicated his read- 
iness to proceed. The other led the way to the bulkhead 
which separated the principal cabin from the quarter-deck 
of the ship ; pointing to the door, he then whispered, 

“ Tap twice ; if he answer, go in.” 

Wilder did as directed. His first summons was either 
unheard or disregarded. On repeating it, he was com- 


72 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


manded to enter. The young seaman opened the door, 
with a crowd of sensations, that will find their solution in 
the succeeding parts of our narrative, and instantly stood, 
under the light of a powerful lamp, in the presence of the 
stranger in green. 




CHAPTER VI. 


“ The simple plan, 

That they should take, who have the power, 

And they should keep, who can.” 

Wordsworth. 

T HE apartment in which our adventurer now found 
himself afforded no bad illustration of the charac- 
ter of its occupant. In its form and proportions it 
was a cabin of the usual size and arrangements ; 
but in its furniture and equipments it exhibited a singular 
admixture of luxury and martial preparation. The lamp, 
which swung from the upper deck, was of solid silver ; and 
though adapted to its present situation by mechanical 
ingenuity, there was that in its shape and ornaments which 
betrayed it had once been used before some shrine of a more 
sacred character. Massive candlesticks, of the same prec- 
ious metal, and which partook of the same ecclesiastical 
formation, were on a venerable table, whose mahogany was 
glittering with the polish of half a century, and whose 
gilded claws and carved supporters bespoke an original des- 
tination very different from the ordinary service of a ship. 
A couch, covered with cut velvet, stood along the transom ; 
while a divan, of blue silk, lay against the bulkhead oppo- 
site, manifesting, by its fashion, its materials, and its piles 
of pillows, that even Asia had been made to contribute to 
the ease of its luxurious owner. In addition to these prom- 
inent articles, there were cut-glass mirrors, plate, and 
even hangings ; each of which, by something peculiar in its 
fashion or materials, bespoke an origin different from that 
of its neighbor. In short, splendor and elegance seemed to 


74 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


have been much more consulted than propriety or taste, 
in the selection of most of those articles which had been 
oddly enough made to contribute to the caprice or to the 
comfort of their singular possessor. 

In the midst of this medley of wealth and luxury 
appeared the frowning appendages of war. The cabin 
included four of those dark cannon whose weight and 
number had been first to catch the attention of Wilder. 
Notwithstanding they were placed in such close proximity 
to the articles of ease just enumerated, it only needed a 
seaman’s eye to perceive that they stood ready for imme- 
diate service, and that five minutes of preparation would 
strip the place of all its tinsel, and leave it a warm and 
well-protected battery. Pistols, sabres, half-pikes, board- 
ing-axes, and all the minor implements of marine warfare, 
were arranged about the cabin in such a manner as to aid 
in giving it an appearance of wild embellishment, while, at 
the same time, each was convenient to the hand. 

Around the mast was placed a stand of muskets ; and 
strong wooden bars, that were evidently made to fit in 
brackets on each side of the door, sufficiently showed that 
the bulkhead might easily be converted into a barrier. The 
entire arrangement proclaimed that the cabin was considered 
the citadel of the ship. In support of this latter opinion 
there was also a hatch, communicating with the apartments 
of the inferior officers, and which opened a direct passage 
into the magazine. These dispositions, a little different 
from what he had been accustomed to see, instantly struck 
the eye of Wilder, though leisure was not then given to 
reflect on their usages and objects. 

There was a latent expression of satisfaction, something 
modified perhaps by irony, on the countenance of the stran- 
ger in green (for he was still clad as when first introduced 
to the reader), as he arose, on the entrance of his visitor. 
The two stood several moments without speaking, when the 
pretended barrister saw fit to break the awkward silence. 

“To what happy circumstance is this ship indebted for 
the honor of such a visit? ” he demanded. 

“ I believe I may answer, to the invitation of her cap- 


XT be IRefc 1Ro\>er 


75 

tain,” Wilder answered, with a steadiness and calmness 
equal to that displayed by the other. 

‘‘Did he show you his commission, in assuming that 
office ? They say at sea, I believe, that no cruiser should 
be found without a commission.” 

And what say they at the universities on this material 
point ? ” 

“ I see I may as well lay aside my gown, and own the 
marlingspike ! ” returned the other, smiling. ‘‘There is 
something about the trade — profession , though, I believe, 
is your favorite word— there is something about the pro- 
fession which betrays us to each other. Yes, Mr. Wilder,” 
he added, with dignity, motioning to his guest to imitate his 
example, and take a seat, ‘‘I am, like yourself, a seaman 
bred ; and happy am I to add, the commander of this gallant 
vessel.” 

“ Then must you admit that I have not intruded without 
a sufficient warrant.” 

“ I confess the same. My ship has filled your eye agree- 
ably ; nor shall I be slow to acknowledge, that I have seen 
enough about your air and person to make me wish to be an 
older acquaintance. You want service ? ” 

“ One should be ashamed of idleness in these stirring 
times. ’ * 

“ It is well. This is an oddly-constructed world in which 
we live, Mr. Wilder. Some think themselves in danger 
with a foundation beneath them no less solid than terra 
firma, while others are content to trust their fortunes on the 
sea. So, again, some there are who believe praying is the 
business of man ; and then come others who are sparing of 
their breath, and take those favors for themselves which 
they have not always the leisure or the inclination to ask 
for. No doubt you thought it prudent to inquire into the 
nature of our trade, before you came hither in quest of 
employment ? ’ ’ 

“You are said to be a slaver, among the townsmen of 
Newport.” 

“ They are never wrong, your village gossips ! If witch- 
craft ever truly existed on earth, the first of the cunning 


76 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


tribe has been a village innkeeper ; the second, its doctor ; , 
and the third, its priest. The right to the fourth honor j 
may be disputed between the barber and the tailor. 
Roderick ! ” 

The captain accompanied the word with which he so un- 
ceremoniously interrupted himself, by striking a light blow 
on a Chinese gong, which, among other curiosities, was 
suspended from one of the beams of the upper deck, within 
reach of his hand. 

“ I say, Roderick, dost sleep ? ” 

A light and active boy darted out of one of the two little 
state-rooms which were constructed on the quarters of the 
ship, and answered to the summons by announcing his 
presence. 

“ Has the boat returned ? ” 

The reply was in the affirmative. 

“ Has she been successful ? ” 

“The general is in his room, sir, and can give you an 
answer better than I.” 

“ Then, let the general appear, and report the result of his 
campaign.” 

Wilder was by far too deeply interested to break the 
sudden reverie into which his companion had fallen, even 
by breathing as loud as usual. The boy descended through 
the hatch like a serpent gliding into his hole, or, rather, a 
fox darting into his burrow, and then a profound stillness 
reigned in the cabin. The commander of the ship leaned 
his head on his hand, appearing unconscious of the presence 
of a stranger. The silence might have been of much longer 
duration, had it not been interrupted by the appearance of 
a third person. A straight, rigid form, slowly elevated 
itself through the little hatchway, very much in the manner 
that theatrical spectres are seen to make their appearance 
on the stage, until about half of the person was visible* when 
it ceased to rise, and turned its disciplined countenance on 
the captain. 

4 ‘ I wait for orders, ’ ’ said a mumbling voice, which issued 
from lips that were hardly perceived to move. 

Wilder started at this unexpected vision, nor was the 


ttbe lRet> iRover 


77 


stranger wanting in an aspect sufficiently remarkable to 
produce surprise in any spectator. The face was that of a 
man of fifty, with the lineaments thoroughly indurated by 
service. Its color was a uniform red, with the exception 
of one of those expressive little fibrous tell-tales on each 
cheek, which bear so striking a resemblance to the mazes 
of the vine, and which would seem to be the true origin of 
the proverb which says that “ Good wine needs no bush.” 
The crown of the head was bald ; but around each ear was 
a mass of grizzled hair, pomatumed and combed into mili- 
tary bristles. The neck was long, and supported by a black 
stock ; the shoulders, arms, and body were those of a tall 
man ; and the whole were enveloped in an overcoat, which, 
though it had something methodical in its fashion, was 
evidently intended as a sort of domino. The captain raised 
his head as the other spoke, exclaiming, as if taken by 
surprise, — 

“Ah ! general, are you at your post? Did you find the 
land?” 

“Yes.” 

“ And the point? — and the man ? ” 

“Both.” 

“ What did you ? ” 

“ Obey orders.” 

“ That was right. You are a jewel for an executive offi- 
cer, general ; as such, I wear you near my heart. Did the 
fellow complain ? ” 

“ He was gagged.” 

“ A summary method of closing remonstrance. It is as 
it should be, general ; as usual, you have merited my ap- 
probation.” 

“ Then reward me for it.” 

“ In what manner? You are already as high in rank as 
I can elevate you. The next step must be knighthood.” 

“ Pshaw ! my men are no better than militia. They want 
coats.” 

“ They shall have them. His majesty’s guards shall not 
be half so well equipped. General, I wish you a good 
night.” 


7 8 


TTbe IRefc IRover 


The figure descended in the same rigid spectral manner 
as it had risen on the sight, leaving Wilder again alone with 
the captain of the ship. The latter seemed suddenly struck 
with the fact that this odd interview had occurred in the 
presence of one who was nearly a stranger, and that, in his 
eyes at least, it might appear to require some explanation. 

“ My friend,” he said, with an air something explanatory, 
while it was at the same time not a little haughty, ‘ ‘com- 
mands what, in a more regular cruiser, would be called the 
‘ marine guard.’ He has gradually risen, by service, from 
the rank of a subaltern, to the high station which he now 
fills. You perceive he smells of the camp ? ” 

More than of the ship. Is it usual for slavers to be so 
well provided with military equipments ? I find you armed 
at all points.” 

“You would know more of us, before we proceed to drive 
our bargain,” the captain answered with a smile. He then 
opened a little casket that stood on the table, and drew 
from it a parchment, which he coolly handed to Wilder, 
saying, as he did so, with one of the quick searching glances 
of his restless eye, “You will see by that we have ‘ letters 
of marque,’ and are duly authorized to fight the battles of 
the king, while we are conducting our own more peaceable 
affairs. ’ ’ 

“ This is the commission of a brig ! ” 

“ True, true. I have given you the wrong paper. I 
believe you will find this more accurate.” 

“This is truly a commission for the ‘good ship Seven 
Sisters ’ ; but you surely carry more than ten guns ; and 
then, these in your cabin throw nine instead of four pound 
shot.” 

“You are as precise as if you had been a barrister, and 
I the blundering seaman. I dare say you have heard of 
such a thing as stretching a commission ? ’ ’ continued the 
captain, carelessly throwing the parchment back among a 
pile of similar documents. Then rising from his seat, he 
began to pace the cabin with quick steps, as he continued, 

I need not tell you, Mr. Wilder, that ours is a hazardous 
pursuit. Some call it lawless. But, as I am little addicted 


Uhc IRefc 1Ro\>er 


79 


to theological disputes, we will waive the question. You 
have not come here without knowing your errand ? ” 

“lam in search of a berth.” 

“Doubtless you have reflected well on the matter, and 
know your own mind as to the trade in which you would 
sail. In order that no time may be wasted, and that our 
dealings may be frank, as becomes two honest seamen, I 
will confess to you, at once, that I have need of you. A 
brave and skilful man, one older, though I dare say not 
better than yourself, occupied that larboard state-room, within 
the month ; poor fellow, he is food for fishes ere this.” 

“ He was drowned? ” 

“ Not he ! He died in open battle with a king’s ship ! ” 

“A king’s ship ! Have you then stretched your com- 
mission so far as to find a warranty for giving battle to his 
majesty’s cruisers ? ’ ’ 

“Is there no king but George the Second? Perhaps 
she bore the white flag, perhaps a Dane. But he was truly 
a gallant fellow ; and there lies his berth, as empty as the 
day he was carried from it to be cast into the sea. He was 
a man fit to succeed to the command, should an evil star 
shine on my fate. I think I could die easier, were I to 
know this noble vessel was to be transmitted to one who 
would make such use of her as should be.” 

“ Doubtless your owners would provide a successor, in 
the event of such a calamity.” 

“My owners are very reasonable,” returned the other, 
casting another searching glance at his guest, which com- 
pelled Wilder to lower his own eyes to the cabin floor ; 
“ they seldom trouble me with importunities or orders.” 

“They are indulgent ! I see that flags at least were not 
forgotten in your inventory ; do they also give you permis- 
sion to wear any of those ensigns, as you may please ? ’ ’ 

As this question was put, the expressive and understand- 
ing looks of the two seamen met. The captain drew a flag 
from the half-open locker, where it had caught the attention 
of his visitor, and letting the roll unfold itself on the deck, 
he answered, — 

“This is the lily of France, you see. No bad emblem 


8o 


TLhc IRefc IRover 


of your stainless Frenchman. An escutcheon of pretence 
without spot, but, nevertheless, a little soiled by use. Here 
you have the calculating Dutchman ; plain, substantial, and 
cheap. It is a flag I little like. If the ship be of value, 
her owners are not often willing to dispose of her without 
a price. This is your swaggering Hamburger. He is rich 
in the possession of one town, and makes his boast of it 
in these towers. Of the rest of his mighty possessions he 
wisely says nothing in his allegory. These are the cres- 
cents of Turkey ; a moonstruck nation, that believe them- 
selves the inheritors of heaven. Tet them enjoy their birth- 
right in peace ; it is seldom they are found looking for its 
blessings on the high seas: and these, the little satellites 
that play about the mighty moon, your barbarians of Africa. 
I hold but little communion with these wide-trowsered 
gentry, for they seldom deal in aught gainful. And yet,” 
he added, glancing his eye at the silken divan, before which 
Wilder was seated, “I have met the rascals ; nor have we 
parted entirely without communication. Ah ! here comes 
the man I like ; your gorgeous Spaniard ! This field of 
yellow reminds one of the riches of his mines ; and this 
crown ! one might fancy it of beaten gold, and stretch forth 
a hand to grasp the treasure. What a blazonry is this for 
a galleon ! Here is the humbler Portuguese ; and yet is 
he not without a wealthy look. I have often fancied there 
were true Brazilian diamonds in this kingly bauble. Yon- 
der crucifix, which you see hanging in pious proximity to 
my state-room door, is a specimen of the sort I mean.” 
Wilder turned his head to throw a look on the valuable 
emblem, that was really suspended from the bulkhead, 
within a few inches of the spot the other named. After 
satisfying his curiosity, he was in the act of giving his atten- 
tion again to the flags, when he detected another of those 
penetrating, but stolen glances, with which his companion 
so often read the countenance of his associates. It is prob- 
able that the captain was endeavoring to discover the effect 
his profuse display of wealth had produced on the mind of 
his visitor. Tet that be as it would, Wilder smiled ; for, at 
that moment, the idea first occurred that the ornaments of 


XTbe IRefc IRovet 


81 


the cabin had been thus studiously arranged with an expec- 
tation of his arrival, and with the wish that their richness 
might strike him favorably. The other caught the expres- 
sion of his eye ; and perhaps he mistook its meaning, when 
he suffered his construction of what it said to animate him 
to pursue his whimsical analysis of the flags, with an air still 
more cheerful and vivacious than before. 

‘ ‘ These double-headed monsters are land birds, and sel- 
dom risk a flight over deep waters,” he continued ; “they 
are not for me. Your hardy, valiant Dane ; your sturdy 
Swede ; a nest of smaller fry, ’ ’ he continued, passing his 
hand rapidly over a dozen little rolls as they lay, each in its 
own repository, “ who spread their bunting like larger 
states ; and your luxurious Neapolitan. Ah ! here come 
the keys of heaven ! This is a flag to die under ; I lay yard- 
arm and yard-arm, once, under that very bit of bunting, 
with a heavy corsair from Algiers — 5 ’ 

“ What ! Did you choose to fight under the banners of 
the Church ? ’ ’ 

“ In mere devotion. I pictured to myself the surprise 
that would overcome the barbarian when he should find that 
we did not go to prayers. We gave but a round or two, be- 
fore he swore that Allah had decreed he might surrender. 
There was a moment, while I luffed-up on his weather- 
quarter, I believe, that the Mussulman thought the whole of 
the sacred conclave was afloat, and that the downfall of 
Mohammed and his offspring was nigh. I provoked the 
conflict, I will confess, in showing him these peaceful keys, 
which he is dull enough to think open half the strong boxes 
of Christendom.” 

“ When he had confessed his error, you let him go ? ” 

“Hum !— with my blessing. There was some interchange 
of commodities between us, and we parted. I left him smok- 
ing his pipe, in a heavy 7- sea, with his fore-top-mast over the 
side, his mizzen-mast under his counter, and some six or 
seven holes in his bottom, that let in the water just as fast 
as the pumps discharged it. You see he was in a fair way 
to acquire his portion of the inheritance. But Heaven had 

ordained it all, and he was satisfied ! ” 

6 


82 


Ube IReb 1Rov>er 


“ And what flags are these which you have passed. They 
seem rich and many.” 

‘ ‘ These are England ; like herself, aristocratic, party- 
colored, and a good deal touched by humor. Here is bunt- 
ing to note all ranks and conditions, as if men were not made 
of the same flesh, and the people of one kingdom might not 
all sail honestly under the same emblems. Here is my Tord 
High Admiral ; your St. George ; your field of red, and of 
blue, as chance may give you a leader, or the humor of the 
moment prevail ; the stripes of mother India, and the royal 
standard itself ! ’ ’ 

“ The royal standard ! ” 

‘ ‘ Why not ? a commander is termed ‘ a monarch in his 
ship.’ Ay, this is the standard of the king ; and, what is 
more, it has been worn in presence of an admiral ! ” 

‘ ‘ This needs explanation ! ’ ’ exclaimed his listener, who 
seemed to feel much that sort of horror that a churchman 
would discover at the detection of sacrilege. ‘ ‘ To wear the 
royal standard in presence of a flag ! We all know how dif- 
ficult, and even dangerous, it becomes, to sport a simple pen- 
nant, with the eye of a king’s cruiser on us — ” 

“I love to flaunt the rascals!” interrupted the other, 
with a smothered, but bitter laugh. “There is pleasure in 
the thing ! In order to punish, they must possess the 
power ; an experiment often made, but never successful. 
You understand balancing accounts with the law, by show- 
ing a broad sheet of canvas. I need say no more. ’ ’ 

“ And which of all these flags do you most use?” de- 
manded Wilder, after a moment of intense thought. 

“As to mere sailing, I am as whimsical as a girl in her 
teens in the choice of her ribbons. I will often show you a 
dozen in a day. Many is the worthy trader who has gone 
into port with his veritable account of this Dutchman, or 
that Dane, with whom he has spoken in the offing. As to 
fighting, though I have been known to indulge a humor, 
too, in that particular, still there is one which I most 
effect.” 

“ And that is — ” 

The captain kept his hand for a moment on the roll he 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


83 


had touched, and seemed to read the very soul of his visitor, 
so intent and keen was his look the while. Then, suffering 
the bunting to fall, a deep, blood-red field, without relief or 
ornament of any sort, unfolded itself, as he answered, with 
emphasis, — 

“This.” 

“ That is the color of a rover ! ” 

“Ay, it is red ! I like it better than your gloomy fields 
of black, with death’s heads, and other childish scare-crows. 
It threatens nothing ; but merely says, ‘ Such is the price at 
which I am to be bought.’ Mr. Wilder,” he added, losing 
the mixture of irony and pleasantry with which he had sup- 
ported the previous dialogue, in an air of authority, ‘ ‘ we 
understand each other. It is time that each should sail 
under his proper colors. I need not tell you who I am ? ’ ’ 

“I believe it is unnecessary,” said Wilder. “ If I can 
comprehend these palpable signs, I stand in presence of— 
of—” 

“The Red Rover,” continued the other, observing that 
he hesitated to pronounce the appalling name. “ It is true ; 
and I hope this interview is the commencement of a durable 
and firm friendship. I know not the secret cause, but from 
the moment of our meeting, a strong and indefinable interest 
has drawn me towards you. Perhaps I felt the void which 
my situation has drawn about me ; be that as it may, I re- 
ceive you with a longing heart and open arms. ’ ’ 

Though it must be very evident, from what preceded this 
open avowal, that Wilder was not ignorant of the character 
of the ship on board of which he had just ventured, yet did 
he not receive the acknowledgment without embarrassment. 
The reputation of this renowned freebooter, his daring, his 
acts of liberality and licentiousness so frequently blended, 
and his desperate disregard of life on all occasions, were 
probably crowding together in the recollection of our more 
youthful adventurer, and caused him to feel that species of 
responsible hesitation, to which we are all more or less subject 
on the occurrence of important events, be they ever so much 
expected. 

“ You have not mistaken my purpose, or my suspicions,” 


8 4 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


he at length answered, ‘ ‘ for I own I have come in search of 
this very ship. I accept the service ; from this moment, 
you will rate me in whatever station you may think me best 
able to discharge my duty with credit.” 

‘ ‘ You are next to myself. In the morning the same shall 
be proclaimed on the quarter-deck ; and, in the event of my 
death, unless I am deceived in my man, you will prove my 
successor. This may strike you as sudden confidence. It 
is so, in part, I must acknowledge ; but our shipping lists 
cannot be opened, like those of the king, by beat of drum 
in the streets of the metropolis ; and then am I no judge of 
the human heart, if my frank reliance on your faith does not 
in itself strengthen your good feelings in my favor. ’ ’ 

“It does!” exclaimed Wilder, with sudden and strong 
emphasis. 

The Rover smiled calmly, as he continued, — 

“ Young gentlemen of your years are apt to carry no small 
portion of their hearts in their hands. But notwithstand- 
ing this seeming sympathy, in order that you may have 
sufficient respect for the discretion of your leader, it is 
necessary that I should say we have met before. I was 
apprised of your intention to seek me out, and to offer to 
join me.” 

“ It is impossible,” cried Wilder. “No human being — ” 
“ Can ever be certain his secrets are safe,” interrupted the 
other, “ when he carries a face as ingenuous as your own. 
It is but four-and-twenty hours since you were in the good 
town of Boston.” 

“ I admit that much ; but — ” 

“You will soon admit the rest. You were too curious in 
your inquiries of the dolt who declares he was robbed by us 
of his provisions and sails. The false-tongued villain ! It 
may be well for him to keep from my path, or he may get a 
lesson that shall prick his honesty. Does he think such 
pitiful game as he would induce me to spread a single inch 
of canvas, or even lower a boat into the sea ? ’ ’ 

“ Is. not his statement, then, true?” demanded Wilder, in 
a surprise he took no pains to conceal. 

“ True ! Am I what report has made me ? Took keenly 


Ube IReb 1Rov>er 


85 


at the monster, that nothing may escape you, ’ ’ returned the 
Rover, with a hollow laugh, in which scorn struggled to 
keep down the feelings of wounded pride. ‘ ‘ Where are the 
horns, and the cloven foot ? Snuff the air : is it not tainted 
with sulphur? But enough of this. I knew of your in- 
quiries, and liked your mien. In short, you were my study ; 
and though my approaches were made with some caution, 
they were sufficiently nigh to effect the object. You pleased 
me, Wilder ; and I hope the satisfaction may be mutual.’ ’ 

The newly engaged buccaneer bowed to the compliment 
of his superior, and appeared at some little loss for a reply. 
As if to get rid of the subject at once, he hurriedly ob- 
served, — 

‘ ‘ As we now understand each other, I will intrude no 
longer, but leave you for the night, and return to my duty in 
the morning.” 

‘ ‘ Leave me ! ’ ’ returned the Rover, stopping short in his 
walk, and fastening his eye keenly on the other. “It is 
not usual for my officers to leave me at this hour. A sailor 
should love his ship, and never sleep out of her unless on 
compulsion.” 

“We may as well understand each other,” said Wilder 
quickly. “ If it is to be a slave, and like one of the bolts, a 
fixture in the vessel, that you need me, our bargain is at an 
end.” 

“ Hum ! I admire your spirit, sir, much more than your 
discretion. You will find me an attached friend, and one 
who little likes a separation, however short. Is there not 
enough to content you here ? I will not speak of such low 
considerations as those which administer to the ordinary 
appetites. But you have been taught the value of reason — 
here are books ; you have taste — here is elegance ; you are 
poor — here is wealth.” 

“They amount to nothing, without liberty,” coldly re- 
turned the other. 

“ And what is this liberty you ask ? I hope, young man, 
you would not so soon betray the confidence you have just 
received. Our acquaintance is but short, and I may have 
been too hasty in my faith.” 


86 


XL be IRefc IRover 


“I must return to the land,” Wilder added, firmly, “if 
it be only to know that I am trusted, and not a prisoner.” 

“ There is a generous sentiment, or deep villainy in all 
this,” resumed the Rover, after a minute of thought. “I 
will believe the former. Declare to me that, while in the 
town of Newport, you will inform no soul of the true char- 
acter of this ship.” 

“ I will swear it,” eagerly interrupted Wilder. 

“On this cross,” rejoined the Rover, with a sarcastic 
laugh; “on this diamond-mounted cross! No, sir,” he 
added, with a proud curl of the lip, as he cast the jewel con- 
temptuously aside ; “ oaths are made for men who need laws 
to keep them to their promises ; I need no more than the 
clear and unequivocal affirmation of a gentleman.” 

“ Then, plainly and unequivocally do I declare, that, 
while in Newport, I will discover the character of this ship 
to no one, without your wish, or order so to do. Nay, 
more — ’ ’ 

“No more. It is wise to be sparing of our pledges, and 
to say no more than the occasion requires. The time may 
come when you can do good to yourself, without harming 
me, by being unfettered by a promise. In an hour you shall 
land ; that time will be needed to make you acquainted with 
the terms of your enlistment, and to grace my rolls with 
your name. Roderick,” he added, again touching the gong, 
“ you are wanted, boy.” 

The same active lad that had made his appearance at the 
first summons, ran up the steps from the cabin beneath, and 
announced his presence again by his voice. 

“Roderick,” continued the Rover, “this is my future 
lieutenant, and of course your officer, and my friend. Will 
you take refreshment, sir? There is little that man needs, 
which Roderick cannot supply ! ” 

‘ ‘ I thank you ; I have need of none. ’ ’ 

“Then have the goodness to follow the boy. He will 
show you into the dining apartment beneath, and give you 
the written regulations. In an hour, you will have digested 
the code, and by that time I shall be with you. Throw the 
light more upon the ladder, boy ; you can descend without a 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


87 


ladder though, it would seem, or I should not, at this mo- 
ment, have the pleasure of your company.” 

The intelligent smile of the Rover was unanswered by 
any corresponding evidence from the subject of his joke, 
that he found satisfaction in the remembrance of the awk- 
ward situation in which he had been left in the tower. 
The former caught the displeased expression of the other’s 
countenance, and he gravely prepared to follow the boy, who 
already stood in the hatchway with a light. Advancing a 
step, with the grace and tones of a man of breeding, he 
said quickly, — 

“ Mr. Wilder, I owe you an apology for my seeming 
rudeness at parting on the hill. Though I believed you 
mine, I was not sure of my acquisition. You will readily 
see how necessary it might be, to one in my situation, to 
throw off a companion at such a moment.” 

Wilder turned, with a countenance from which every 
shade of displeasure had vanished, and motioned to him to 
say no more. 

“ It was awkward enough, certainly, to find one’s self in 
such a prison ; but I feel the justice of what you say. I 
might have done the very thing myself, if the same pres- 
ence of mind were at hand to help me.” 

“ The good-man who grinds in the Newport ruin must 
be in a sad way, since all the rats are leaving his mill,” 
cried the Rover, beckoning his temporary adieus, as his 
companion followed the boy. 

Wilder freely returned the open, cordial laugh ; and then, 
as he descended, the cabin was left to him who, a few min- 
utes before, had been found in its quiet possession. 




CHAPTER VII. 

“ The world affords no law to make thee rich ; 

Then be not poor, but break it, and take this. 

Apoth . My poverty, but not my will, consents.” 

Romeo and Juliet. 

T HE Rover arrested his step, as the other disap- 
peared, and stood for more than a minute in an 
attitude of high and self-gratulating triumph. 
He was exulting in his success. But though his 
intelligent face betrayed the satisfaction of the inward man, 
it was illumined by no expression of vulgar joy. It was the 
countenance of one who was suddenly relieved from intense 
care, rather than that of a man who was greedy of profiting 
by the services of others. Indeed, it would have been difficult 
for a close observer to detect a shade of regret in the lightings 
of his seductive smile, or in the momentary flashes of his 
changeful eye. The feeling, however, quickly passed away, 
and his whole figure and countenance resumed the ordinary 
careless mien in which he most indulged in his hours of 
ease. 

After allowing sufficient time for the boy to conduct 
Wilder to the cabin below, and to put him in possession of 
the regulations for the policy of the ship, the captain again 
touched the gong, and once more summoned the former to 
his presence. The lad, had, however, to approach the 
elbow of his master, and to speak thrice, before the other 
was conscious that he had answered his call. 

“ Roderick,” said the Rover, after a long pause, “ 
you there ? ’ ’ 

“ I am here,” added a low and a mournful voice. 

88 


are 


Ube IReb IRoper 


89 


“ Ah ! you gave him the regulations ? ” 

“I did.” 

“And he reads? ” 

“ He reads.” 

“It is well. I would speak to the general. Roderick, 
you must have need of rest ; good-night ; let the general 
be summoned to a council and — good-night, my Roderick.” 

The boy made an assenting reply ; but, instead of spring- 
ing with his former alacrity to execute the order, he lin- 
gered a moment near his master’s chair. Failing, however 
in his wish to catch his eye, he reluctantly descended the 
stairs which led into the lower cabins, and was seen 110 more 
that night. 

It is needless to describe the manner in which the gen- 
eral made his second appearance. It differed in no particu- 
lar from his former entr£e y except that, on this occasion, the 
whole of his person was developed. He appeared a tall, 
upright form, that was far from being destitute of natural 
proportions, but which had been so exquisitely drilled into 
simultaneous movement, that the several members had so 
far lost the power of volition as to render it impossible for 
any one of them to stir, without producing something like a 
correspondent demonstration in all of its fellows. This rigid 
and well-regulated personage, after making a military bow to 
his superior, helped himself to a chair, in which, after some 
little time lost in preparation, he seated himself in silence. 
The Rover seemed conscious of his presence, for he ac- 
knowledged his salute by a gentle inclination of his own 
head ; though he did not appear to think it necessary to 
suspend his ruminations the more on that account. At 
length, however, he turned short upon his companion, and 
said abruptly, 

“ General, the campaign is not finished.” 

“What remains? The field is won, and the enemy is 
a prisoner.” 

“Ay, your part of the adventure is well achieved, but 
much of mine remains to be done. You saw the youth in 
the lower cabin ? * ’ 

“I did.” 


9 o 


XTbe 1 Refc IRover 


“ And how do you like his appearance ? ” 

“ Maritime.” 

“ That is as much as to say you like him not.’ 

“I like discipline.” 

‘ ‘ I am much mistaken if you do not find him to your 
taste on the quarter-deck. L,et that be as it may, I have 
still a favor to ask of you.” 

“ A favor ! — it is getting late.” 

“ Did I say ‘ a favor’ ? there is duty to be done.” 

“ I wait your orders.” 

“ It is necessary that we use great precaution ; for, as you 
know — ’ ’ 

“ I wait your orders,” laconically repeated the other. 

The Rover compressed his mouth, and a smile struggled 
about the nether lip ; but it changed into a look half bland, 
half authoritative, as he continued, — 

“You will find two seamen in a skiff alongside the ship ; 
the one is white, and the other is black. These men you 
will have conducted into the vessel — into one of the for- 
ward state-rooms — and you will have them both thoroughly 
intoxicated.” 

“ It shall be done,” returned he who was called the gen- 
eral, rising, and marching with long strides towards the 
door of the cabin. 

“ Pause a moment,” added the Rover ; “ what agent will 
you use? ” 

“Nightingale has the strongest head but one in the 
ship.” 

“ He is too far gone already. I sent him ashore to look 
about for any straggling seamen who might like our ser- 
vice ; and I found him in a tavern, with all the fastenings 
off his tongue, declaiming like a lawyer who had taken a 
fee from both parties. Besides, he had a quarrel with one 
of these very men, and it is probable they would get to 
blows in their cups. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I will do it myself. My nightcap is waiting for me ; 
and it is only to lace it a little tighter than common.” 

The Rover seemed content with this assurance ; for he 
expressed his satisfaction with a familiar nod of the head. 


Zhc IReb IRover 


91 


The soldier was now about to depart, when he was again 
interrupted, — 

“ One thing more, general : there is your captive.” 

“ Shall I make him drunk too? ” 

“ By no means. Tet him be conducted hither.” 

The general made an ejaculation of assent, and left the 
cabin. “ It were weak,” thought the Rover, as he resumed 
his walk up and down the apartment, * ‘ to trust too much to 
an ingenuous face and youthful enthusiasm. I am deceived 
if the boy has not had reason to think himself disgusted 
with the world, and ready to embark in any romantic en- 
terprise ; but still, to be deceived might be fatal ; therefore 
will I be prudent, even to excess of caution. He is tied in 
an extraordinary manner to these two seamen. I would I 
knew his history ! But that will come in proper time. The 
men must remain as hostages for his own return, and for 
his faith. If he prove false, why they are seamen ; and 
many men are expended in this wild sendee of ours ! It is 
well arranged ; and no suspicion of any plot on our part will 
wound the sensitive pride of the boy, if he be, as I would 
gladly think, a true man.” 

Such was in a great manner, the train of thought, in 
which the Rover indulged, for many minutes after his mili- 
tary companion had left him. His lips moved ; smiles, and 
dark shades of thought, in turn, chased each other from his 
speaking countenance, which betrayed all the sudden and 
violent changes that denoted the workings of a busy spirit 
within. While thus engrossed in mind, his step became 
more rapid, and at times, he gesticulated a little extrava- 
gantly, when he found himself, in a sudden turn, unexpect- 
edly confronted by a form that seemed to rise on his sight 
like a vision. 

While most engaged in his own humors, two powerful 
seamen had, unheeded, entered the cabin ; and, after silently 
depositing a human figure in a seat, they withdrew without 
speaking. It was before this personage that the Rover now 
found himself. The gaze was mutual, long, and unin- 
terrupted by a syllable from either party. Surprise and 
indecision held the Rover mute, while wonder and alarm 


92 


ttbe IRefc IRover 


appeared to have literally frozen the faculties of the other. 
At length the former, suffering a quaint and peculiar smile to 
gleam for a moment across his countenance, said abruptly, — 

“ I welcome Sir Hector Homespun ! ” 

The e} r es of the confounded tailor — for it was no other 
than that garrulous acquaintance of the reader who had 
fallen into the toils of the Rover — the eyes of the good- 
man rolled from right to left, embracing in their wanderings 
the medley of elegance and warlike preparation that they 
everywhere met, never failing to return, from each greedy 
look, to devour the figure that stood before him. 

“ I say, welcome Sir Hector Homespun ! ” repeated the 
Rover. 

“The Tord will be lenient to the sins of the misera- 
ble father of seven small children ! ” ejaculated the tailor. 
“It is but little, valiant pirate, that can be gotten from a 
hard-working, upright tradesman, who sits from the rising 
to the setting sun, bent over his labor.” 

“These are debasing terms for chivalry, Sir Hector,” 
interrupted the Rover, laying his hand on the little riding- 
whip, which had been thrown carelessly on the cabin table, 
and tapping the shoulder of the tailor with the same, as if 
he were a sorcerer, and would disenchant the other with a 
touch. “ Cheer up, honest and loyal subject; fortune has 
at length ceased to frown ; it is but a few hours since you 
complained that no custom came to your shop from this 
vessel, and now you are in a fair way to do the business of 
the whole ship.” 

“Ah! honorable and magnanimous Rover,” rejoined 
Homespun, whose fluency returned with his senses, ‘ ‘ I am 
an impoverished and undone man. My life has been one 
of weary and probationary hardships. Five bloody and 
cruel wars — ’ ’ 

“ Enough ! I have said that fortune was just beginning 
to smile. Clothes are as necessary to gentlemen of our pro- 
fession as to the parish priest. You shall not baste a seam 
without your reward. Behold!” he added, touching the 
spring of a secret drawer, which flew open, and discovered 
a confused pile of gold* in which the coins of nearly every 


Tib e IReb IRover 


93 


Christian people were blended, ‘ ‘ we are not without the 
means of paying those who serve us faithfully.” 

The sudden exhibition of a hoard of wealth, which not 
only greatly exceeded anything of the kind he had ever 
before witnessed, but which actually surpassed his limited 
imaginative powers, was not without its effect on the sensi- 
tive feelings of the good-man. After feasting on the sight 
for the few moments that his companion left the treasure 
exposed to view, he turned to the envied possessor of so 
much gold, and demanded — the tones of increased confi- 
dence gradually stealing into his voice, as the inward man 
felt additional motives of encouragement, — 

“And what ami expected to perform, mighty seaman, 
for my portion of this wealth ? ’ ’ 

“That which you daily perform on the land — to cut, to 
fashion, and to sew. Perhaps, too, your talent at a mas- 
querade dress may occasionally be taxed. ’ * 

‘ ‘ Ah ! they are lawless and irreligious devices of the en- 
emy, to lead men into sin and worldly abominations. But, 
worthy mariner, there is my disconsolate consort, Desire ; 
though stricken in years, and given to wordy strife, yet is 
she the lawful partner of my bosom, and the mother of a 
numerous offspring.” 

“ She shall not want. This is an asylum for distressed 
husbands. Your men, who have not force enough to com- 
mand at home, come to my ship as to a city of refuge. 
You will make the seventh who has found peace by fleeing 
to this sanctuary. Their families are supported by ways 
best known to ourselves, and all parties are content. This 
is not the least of my benevolent acts.” 

“It is praiseworthy and just, honorable captain ; and I 
hope that Desire and her offspring may not be forgotten. 
The laborer is surely worthy of his hire ; and if, peradven- 
ture, I should toil in your behalf, through stress of com- 
pulsion, I hope the good woman, and her young, may fatten 
on your liberality.” 

“ You have my word ; they shall not be neglected.” 

“ Perhaps, just gentleman, if an allotment should be 
made in advance from that stock of gold, the mind of my 


94 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


consort would be relieved, her inquiries after my fate not 
so searching, and her spirit less troubled. I have reason to 
understand the temper of Desire ; and am well identified, 
that, while the prospect of want is before her eyes, there 
will be a clamor in Newport. Now that the Lord has gra- 
ciously given me the hopes of a respite, there can be no sin 
in wishing to enjoy it in peace.” 

Although the Rover was far from believing, with his cap- 
tive, that the tongue of Desire could disturb the harmony 
of his ship, he was in the humor to be indulgent. Touch- 
ing the spring again, he took a handful of the gold, and ex- 
tending it towards Homespun, demanded, — 

“ Will you take the bounty and the oath? The money 
will then be your own.” 

“The Lord defend us from the evil one, and deliver us 
all from temptation ! ” ejaculated the tailor. “ Heroic 
Rover, I have a dread of the law. Should any evil over- 
come you, in the shape of a king’s cruiser, or a tempest 
cast you on the land, there might be danger in being con- 
taminated too closely with your crew. Any little services 
which I may render, on compulsion, will be overlooked, I 
humbly hope ; and I trust to your magnanimity, honest and 
honorable commander, that the same will not be forgotten 
in the division of your upright earnings.” 

“This is but the spirit of cabbaging, a little distorted,” 
muttered the Rover, as he turned lightly on his heel, and 
tapped the gong, with an impatience that sent the startling 
sounds through every cranny of the ship. Four or five 
heads were thrust in at the different doors of the cabin, and 
the voice of one was heard, desiring to know the wishes of 
their leader. 

“ Take him to his hammock,” was the sudden order. 

The good-man Homespun, who, from fright or policy, 
appeared to be utterly unable to move, was quickly lifted 
from his seat, and conveyed to the door which communicated 
with the quarter-deck. 

“ Pause,” he exclaimed, to his unceremonious bearers, as 
they were about to transport him to the place designated by 
their captain ; “ I have one word yet to say. Honest and 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


95 


loyal rebel, though I do not accept your service, neither do 
I refuse it in an unseemly and irreverent manner. It is a 
sore temptation, and I feel it at my fingers’ end. But a 
covenant may be made between us, by which neither party 
shall be a loser, and in which the law shall find no grounds 
of displeasure. I would wish, mighty commodore, to carry 
an honest name to my grave, and I would also wish to live 
out the number of my days ; for, after having passed with 
so much credit and unharmed, through five bloody and cruel 
wars — ” 

“ Away with him ! ” 

Homespun vanished, as if magic had been employed in 
transporting him, and the Rover was again left to himself. 
His meditations were not interrupted for a long time, by 
human footstep or voice. That breathing stillness, which 
unbending and stern discipline can alone impart, pervaded 
the ship. A landsman, seated in the cabin, might have 
fancied himself, although surrounded by a crew of lawless 
and violent men, in the solitude of a deserted church, so sup- 
pressed and deadened were even those sounds that were abso- 
lutely necessary. There were heard at times, it is true, the 
high and harsh notes of some reveller, who appeared to break 
forth in the strains of a sea song, which, as they issued from 
the depths of the vessel, and were not very musical in them- 
selves, broke on the silence like the first discordant strains 
of a new practitioner on a bugle. But even these interrup- 
tions gradually grew less frequent, and finally became inau- 
dible. At length the Rover heard a hand fumbling about 
the handle of the cabin door, and then his military friend 
once more made his appearance. 

There was that in the step, the countenance, and the 
whole air of the general, which proclaimed that his recent 
service, if successful, had not been achieved without great 
personal hazard. The Rover, who had started from his 
seat the moment he saw who entered, instantly demanded 
his report. 

“ The white is so drunk, that he cannot lie down without 
holding on to the mast ; but thejAegro is either a cheat, or 
his head is made of flint.” 


9 6 


Zhc IRefc IRover 


“ I hope you have not too easily abandoned the design.” 

“ I would as soon batter a mountain ! My retreat was 
not made a minute too soon.” 

The Rover fastened his eyes on the general, in order to 
assure himself of the precise condition of his subaltern, and 
changed his purpose. 

“ It is well. We will now retire for the night.” 

The other carefully dressed his tall person, and brought 
his face in the direction of the little hatchway so often 
named. Then, by a sort of desperate effort, he essayed to 
march to the spot, with his customary military step. As 
one or two erratic movements, and crossings of the legs, 
were not commented on by his captain, the worthy martinet 
descended the stairs, as he believed, with sufficient dignity, 
the moral man not being in the precise state which is the 
best adapted to discover any little blunders that might be 
made by his physical coadjutor. The Rover looked at his 
watch ; and, after allowing sufficient time for the deliberate 
retreat of the general, he stepped lightly on the stairs and 
descended also. 

The lower apartments of the vessel, though less striking 
in their equipments than the upper cabin, were arranged 
with great attention to neatness and comfort. A few offices 
for the servants occupied the extreme after-part of the ship, 
communicating by doors with the dining apartment of the 
secondary officers ; or, as it was called in technical language, 
the “ward- room.” On each side of this, again, there were 
state-rooms, an imposing name by which the dormitories of 
those who are entitled to the honors of the quarter-deck are 
called. Forward of the ward-room, came the apartments of 
the minor officers; and, immediately in front of them, the 
corps of the individual who was called the general was 
lodged, forming by their discipline, a barrier between the 
more lawless seamen and their superiors. 

There was little departure, in this disposition of the ac- 
commodations, from the ordinary arrangements of vessels 
of war of the same description and force as the Rover ; 
but Wilder had not failed to remark, that the bulkheads 
which separated the cabins from the berth-deck, or the part 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


97 


occupied by the crew, were far stouter than common, and 
that a small howitzer was at hand, to be used, as a physi- 
cian might say, internally, should occasion require. The 
doors were of extraordinary strength, and the means of 
barricadoing them resembled more a preparation for battle, 
than the usual securities against petty encroachments on 
private property. Muskets, blunderbusses, pistols, sabres, 
half-pikes, etc., were fixed to the beams and carlings, or 
were made to serve as ornaments against the different bulk- 
heads, in a profusion that plainly told they were there as 
much for use as for show. In short, to the eye of a seaman, 
the whole betrayed a state of things, in which the superiors 
felt that their whole security against the violence and in- 
subordination of their inferiors depended on their influence 
and their ability to resist, united ; and that the former had 
not deemed it prudent to neglect any of the precautions which 
might aid their comparatively less powerful physical force. 

In the principal of the lower apartments, or the ward- 
room, the Rover found his newly enlisted lieutenant, appar- 
ently busy in studying the regulations of the service in 
which he had just embarked. Approaching the corner in 
which the latter had seated himself, the former said, in a 
frank, encouraging, and even confidential manner, — 

“ I hope you find our laws sufficiently firm, Mr. Wilder? ” 
“ Want of firmness is not their fault ; if the same quality 
can always be observed in administering them, it is well,” 
returned the other, rising to salute his superior. “ I have 
never found such rigid rules, even in — ” 

“Even in what, sir?” demanded the Rover, perceiving 
that his companion hesitated. 

“ I was about to say, even in his majesty’s service,” re- 
turned Wilder, slightly coloring. “I know not whether it 
may be a fault, or a recommendation, to have served in a 
king’s ship.” 

“ It is the latter ; at least I, for one, should think so, since 
I learned my trade in the same service.” 

‘ ‘ In what ship ? ’ ’ eagerly interrupted Wilder. 

“ In many,” was the cold reply. “ But, speaking of rigid 
rules, you will soon perceive that, in a service where there 

7 


9 8 


Ube IRefc IRover 


are no courts on shore to protect us, nor any sister cruisers 
to look after our welfare, no small portion of power is nec- 
essarily vested in the commander. You find my authority 
a good deal extended.” 

“A little unlimited,” said Wilder, with a smile that might 
have passed for ironical. 

‘ ‘ I hope you will have no occasion to say that it is arbi- 
trarily executed, * ’ returned the Rover, without observing, or 
perhaps without letting it appear that he observed, the ex- 
pression of his companion’s countenance. “ But your hour 
is come : you are at liberty to land.” 

The young man thanked him, with a courteous inclination 
of the head, and expressed his readiness to go. As they 
ascended the ladder into the upper cabin, the captain ex- 
pressed his regret that the hour, and the necessity of pre- 
serving the incognito of his ship, would not permit him to 
send an officer of his rank ashore in the manner he could 
wish. 

‘ ‘ But then there is the skiff in which you came off, still 
alongside, and your own two stout fellows will soon twitch 
you to yon point. Apropos of those two men, are they in- 
cluded in our arrangements ? ’ ’ 

“They have never quitted me since my childhood, and 
would not wish to do it now.” 

“ It is a singular tie that unites two men so oddly con- 
stituted, to one so different by habits and education from 
themselves, ’ ’ returned the Rover, glancing his eye keenly at 
the other, and withdrawing it the instant that he perceived 
his interest in the answer was observed. 

“It is,” Wilder calmly replied ; “but as we are all sea- 
men, the difference is not so great as one w r ould at first im- 
agine. I will now join them, and take an opportunity to 
let them know that they are to serve in future under your 
orders.” 

The Rover suffered him to leave the cabin, following to 
the quarter-deck, with a careless step, as if he had come 
abroad to breathe the open air of the night. 

The weather had not changed, but it still continued dark, 
though mild. The same stillness as before reigned on the 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


99 


decks of the ship ; and nowhere, with a solitary exception, 
was a human form to be seen, amid the collection of dark 
objects that rose on the sight, all of which Wilder well 
understood to be necessary fixtures in the vessel. The ex- 
ception was the same individual who had first received our 
adventurer, and who still paced the quarter-deck, wrapped, 
as before, in a watch-coat. To this personage the youth now 
addressed himself, announcing his intention temporarily to 
quit the vessel. His communication was received with a 
respect that satisfied him that his new rank was already 
known, although, as it would seem, it was to be made to 
succumb to the superior authority of the Rover. 

“You know, sir, that no one, of whatever station, can 
leave the ship at this hour, without an order from the cap- 
tain,” was the steady reply. 

“ So I presume ; but I have the order, and transmit it to 
you. I shall land in my own boat.” 

The other, seeing a figure within hearing, which he well 
knew to be that of his commander, waited an instant, to as- 
certain if what he heard was true. Finding that no objec- 
tion was made, he merely indicated the place where the 
other would find his boat. 

‘ ‘ The men have left it ! ” exclaimed Wilder, stepping back 
in surprise, as he was about to descend the vessel’s side. 

“ Have the rascals run ? ” 

“ Sir, they have not run ; neither are they rascals. They 
are in this ship, and must be found.” 

The other waited to witness the effect of these authori- 
tative words, too, on the individual who still lingered in the 
shadow of a mast. As no answer was, however, given 
from that quarter, he saw the necessity of obedience. In- 
timating his intention to seek the men, he passed into the 
forward parts of the vessel, leaving Wilder, as he thought, 
in sole possession of the quarter-deck. The latter was, 
however, soon undeceived. The Rover, advancing carelessly 
to his side, made an allusion to the condition of his vessel, 
in order to divert the thoughts of his new lieutenant, who, 
by his hurried manner of pacing the deck, he saw was 
beginning to indulge in uneasy meditations. 

L. of C. 


IOO 


Ube 1 Reb 1Ro\>er 


“ A charming sea-boat, Mr. Wilder,’ ’ he continued, “and 
one that never throws a drop of spray abaft her mainmast. 
She is just the craft a seaman loves ; easy on her rigging, 
and lively in a sea. I call her the ‘Dolphin,’ from the 
manner in which she cuts the water ; and, perhaps, because 
she has as many colors as that fish, you will say. Jack must 
have a name for his ship, you know, and I dislike your cut- 
throat appellations, ‘Spitfires,’ and ‘ Bloody-murders. ’ ” 

“ You were fortunate in finding such a vessel. Was she 
built to your orders ? ’ ’ 

“ Few ships, under six hundred tons, sail from these col- 
onies that are not built to serve my purposes, ’ ’ returned 
the Rover, with a smile ; as if he would cheer his companion 
by displaying the mine of wealth that was opening to him, 
through the new connection he had made. ‘ ‘ This vessel 
was originally built for his most faithful majesty ; and, 
I believe, was either intended as a present or a scourge to 
the Algerines ; but — but she has changed owners, as you see, 
and her fortune is a little altered ; though how, or why, is a 
trifle with which we will not, just now, divert ourselves. I 
think she is all the better handled for the transfer. I have 
had her in port ; she has undergone some improvements, 
and is now altogether suited to a running trade.” 

“You then venture, sometimes, inside the forts? ” 

“When you have leisure, my private journal may afford 
some interest,” the other evasively replied. “ I hope, Mr. 
Wilder, you find the vessel in such a state that a seaman 
need not blush for her ? ’ ’ 

“ Her beauty and neatness first caught my eye, and in- 
duced me to make closer inquiries into her character.” 

“You were quick in seeing that she was kept at a single 
anchor ! ” returned the other, laughing. “ But I never risk 
anything without a reason ; not even the loss of my ground 
tackle. It would be no great achievement, for so warm a 
battery as this I carry, to silence yonder apology for a fort ; 
but in doing it, we might receive an unfortunate hit, and, 
therefore, I keep ready for an instant departure.” 

“ It must be a little awkward to fight in a war where one 
cannot lower his flag in any emergency,” said Wilder, more 


Ube Ifteb iRover 


IOI 


like one who mused, than one who intended to express the 
opinion aloud. 

“ The bottom is always beneath us,” was the laconic an- 
swer. “ But to you I may say, that I am, on principle, 
tender on my spars. They are examined daily, like the 
heels of a racer ; for it often happens that our valor must be 
well tempered by discretion.” 

‘ ‘ And how and where do you refit, when damaged in a 
gale, or in a fight ? ” 

“Hum! We contrive to refit, sir, and to take the sea 
again in tolerable condition.” 

He stopped ; and Wilder, perceiving that he was not yet 
deemed entitled to entire confidence, continued silent. In 
this pause the officer returned, followed by the black alone. 
A few words served to explain the condition of Fid. It 
was very apparent that the young man was not only disap- 
pointed, but that he was deeply mortified. The frank and 
ingenuous air, however, with which he turned to the Rover, 
to apologize for the dereliction of his follower, satisfied the 
latter that he was far from suspecting any improper agency 
in bringing about his awkward condition. 

“You know the character of seamen too well, sir,” he 
said, ‘ ‘ to impute this oversight to my poor fellow as a 
heinous fault. A better sailor never lay on a yard, or 
stretched a ratlin, than Dick Fid ; but I must allow that he 
carries the quality of good fellowship to excess.” 

“ You are fortunate in having one man left you to pull 
the boat ashore,” carelessly returned the other. 

“Iam more than equal to that little exertion myself ; nor 
do I like to separate the men. With your permission, the 
black shall be berthed, too, in the ship to-night.” 

‘ ‘ As you please. Empty hammocks are not scarce among 
us, since the last brush.” 

Wilder then directed theSegro to return to his messmate, 
and to watch over him so long as he should be unable to look 
after himself. The black, who was far from being as clear- 
headed as common, willingly complied. The young man 
then took leave of his companions, and descended into the 
skiff. As he pulled, with vigorous arms, away from the dark 


102 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


ship, his eyes were cast upward with a seaman’s pleasure on 
the order and neatness of her gear, and thence they fell on 
the frowning mass of the hull. A light-built, compact form 
was seen standing on the heel of the bow-sprit, apparently 
watching his movements ; and, notwithstanding the gloom 
of the clouded starlight, he was enabled to detect, in the 
individual who took so much apparent interest in his pro- 
ceedings, the person of the Rover. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

“ What is yon gentleman ? 

Nurse. The son and heir of old Tiberio. 

Juliet. What ’she that follows there, that would not dance? 
Nurse. Marry, I know not.” 

Romeo and Juliet. 

T HE sun was just heaving up out of the field of 
waters in which the blue islands of Massachusetts 
lie, when the inhabitants of Newport were seen 
opening their doors and windows, and pre- 
paring for the different employments of the day, with the 
freshness and alacrity of people who had wisely adhered to 
the natural allotments of time in seeking their rests, or in 
pursuing their pleasures. The morning salutations passed 
cheerfully from one to another as each undid the slight fasten- 
ings of his shop ; and many a kind inquiry passed from one 
to the other concerning a daughter’s fever, or the rheuma- 
tism of some aged grandam. As the landlord of the ‘ ‘ Foul 
Anchor” was so wary in protecting the character of his 
house from any unjust imputations of unseemly revelling, so 
was he among the foremost in opening his doors, to catch 
any transient customer who might feel the necessity of wash- 
ing away the damps of the past night with an invigorating 
stomachic. This cordial was then very generally taken, in 
the British provinces, under the various names of ‘ ‘ bitters, ’ ’ 
“juleps,” “ morning drams, ” “ fogmatics,” etc., as the 

situation of different districts appeared to require particular 
preventives. The custom is getting a little into disuse, it is 
true ; but still it retains much of that sacred character which 
is the consequence of antiquity. It is not a little extraordi- 
nary that this venerable and laudable practice of washing 

103 



104 


XTbe 1 Reft IRover 


away the unwholesome impurities engendered in the hu- 
man system, at a time when, as it is entirely without any 
moral protector, it is left exposed to the attacks of all the 
evils to which flesh is heir, should subject the American to 
the witticisms of his European brother. We are not among 
the least grateful to those foreign philanthropists who take 
so deep an interest in our welfare as seldom to let an)' re- 
publican foible pass without applying to it, as it merits, the 
caustic application of their purifying monarchical pens. We 
are, perhaps, the more sensible of this generosity, because 
we have had occasion to witness, that, so great is their zeal 
in behalf of our infant States (robust, and a little unman- 
ageable, perhaps, but still infant), they are wont, in the 
warmth of their ardor to reform Cisatlantic sins, to overlook 
some of their own backslidings. Numberless are the moral 
missionaries that the mother-country, for instance, has sent 
among us, on these pious and benevolent errands. We can 
only regret that their efforts have been crowned with so little 
success. It was our fortune to be familiarly acquainted with 
one of these worthies, who never lost an opportunity of de- 
claiming, above all, against the infamy of the particular 
practice to which we have just alluded. The ground he took 
was so broad that he held it to be not only immoral, but, 
what was hideous, it was ungenteel, to swallow anything 
stronger than small beer, before the hour allotted to dinner. 
After that important period, it was not only permitted to 
assuage the previous mortifications of the flesh, but, so 
liberal did he showbimself in the indulgence, after the clock 
had settled the point of orthodoxy, that he was regularly 
carried to bed at midnight, from which he as regularly 
issued, in the course of the following morning, to discourse 
again on the deformities of premature drunkenness. And 
here we would take occasion to say, that, as to our own insig- 
nificant person, we eschew the abomination altogether ; and 
only regret that those of the two nations, who find pleasure 
in the practice, could not come to some amicable understand- 
ing as to the precise period of the twenty-four hours, when 
it is permitted to such Christian gentlemen as speak English 
to steep their senses in liquor, without bringing scandal on 


Ube IRefc IRover 


I0 5 

good breeding. That the negotiators who formed the last 
treaty of amity should have overlooked this important 
moral topic, is another evidence that both parties were so 
tired of an unprofitable war as to patch up a peace in a hurry. 
It is not too late to name a commission for this purpose ; 
and, in order that the question may be fairly treated on 
its merits, we presume to suggest to the Executive the 
propriety of nominating, as our commissioner, some con- 
firmed advocate of the system of “juleps.” It is believed 
our worthy and indulgent mother can have no difficulty 
in selecting a suitable coadjutor from the ranks of her 
numerous and well-trained diplomatic corps. 

With this manifestation of our personal liberality, united 
to so much interest in the proper, and we hope final dispos- 
ition of this important question, we may be permitted to 
resume the narrative, without being set down as advocates 
for morning stimulants or evening intoxication ; which is a 
very just division of the whole subject, as we believe, from 
an observation that is far from being limited. 

The landlord of the “Foul Anchor,” as has just been 
said, was early a-foot, to gain an honest penny from any of 
the supporters of the former system who might chance to 
Select his bar for their morning sacrifices to Bacchus, in 
preference to that of his neighbor, he who endeavored to 
entice the lieges by exhibiting a red- faced man in a scarlet 
coat, that was called the “Head of George the Second.” 
The activity of the alert publican did not go without its 
reward. The tide of custom set strongly, for the first half- 
hour, towards the haven of his hospitable bar ; nor did he 
appear entirely to abandon the hopes of a further influx, 
even after the usual period of such arrivals began to pass 
away. Finding, however, that his customers were begin- 
ning to depart on their several pursuits, he left his station, 
and appeared at the outer door, with a hand in each pocket, 
as if he found a secret pleasure in the jingling of their new 
tenants. A stranger, who had not entered with the others, 
and who, of course, had not partaken of the customary 
libations, was standing at a little distance, with a hand 
thrust into the bosom of his vest, apparently more occupied 


io6 


XTbe IReb IRover 


with his own reflections than with the success of the publi- 
can. This figure caught the understanding eye of the latter, 
who conceived that no man, who had recourse to the proper 
morning stimulants, could wear so meditative a face at that 
early period in the cares of the day, and that, consequently, 
something was yet to be gained by opening a communica- 
tion between them. 

“ A clean air, this, friend, to brush away the damps of 
the night,” he said, snuffing the really delicious and invig- 
orating breathings of a fine October morning. “ It is such 
purifiers as this, that give our island its character, and make 
it, perhaps, the very healthiest, as it is universally admitted 
to be the beautifulest spot in creation. A stranger here, ’t is 
likely ? ” 

“ But quite lately arrived, sir,” was the reply. 

“ A seafaring man, by your dress ? and one in search of a 
ship, as I am ready to qualify to ? ” continued the publican, 
chuckling at his own penetration. “We have many such 
that pass hereaway; but people mustn’t think, because 
Newport is so flourishing, that berths can always be had for 
asking. Have you tried your luck in the capital of the Bay 
province ? ’ ’ 

“ I left Boston no later than the day before yesterday.” # 

“What ! could n’t the proud townsfolks 1 find you a ship? 
Ay, they are a mighty people at talking, and it isn’t often 
that they put their candle under the bushel ; and yet there 
are what I call good judges, who think Narragansett Bay is 
in a fair way, shortly, to count as many sail as Massachusetts. 
Yonder is a wholesome brig, that is going, within the week, 
to turn her horses into rum and sugar ; and here is a ship 
that hauled into the stream no longer ago than yesterday 
sun-down. That is a noble vessel, and her cabins are fit for 
a prince ! She ’ll be off with the change of the wind ; and I 
dare say a good hand wouldn’t go a-begging aboard her 
just now. Then, there is a slaver, off the fort, if you like a 
cargo of wool-heads for your money. ’ ’ 

1 Boston was called the town of Boston, not being incorporated as a 
city until a period comparatively recent. The government was that 
of a “town ” until it had more than fifty thousand inhabitants. 


Ube *lReb IRover 


107 


“ Is it thought the ship in the inner harbor will sail with 
the first wind ? ’ ’ demanded the stranger. 

‘ ‘ It is, downright. My wife is a full cousin to the wife of 
the collector’s clerk ; and I have it quite straight that the 
papers are ready, and that nothing but the wind detains 
them. I keep some short scores, you know, friend, with the 
blue-jackets, and it behooves an honest man to look to his 
interests in these hard times. Yes, there she lies ; a well- 
known ship, the Royal Caroline. She make a regular v’yage 
once a year between the provinces and Bristol, touching here 
out and home to give us certain supplies, and to wood and 
water ; and then she goes home, or to the Carolinas, as the 
case may be.” 

“Pray, sir, has she much of an armament?” continued 
the stranger, who began to lose his thoughtful air, in the 
more evident interest he was beginning to take in the dis- 
course. 

“Yes, yes ; she is not without a few bull-dogs, to bark in 
defence of her own rights, and to say a word in support of 
his majesty’s honor, too, God bless him ! Judy ! you 
Jude ! ” he shouted, at the top of his voice, to a negro girl 
who was gathering kindling-wood among the chips of a 
ship-yard, “ scamper over to neighbor Homespun’s, and 
rattle away at his bedroom windows ; the man has overslept 
himself: it is not common to hear seven o’clock strike, and 
the thirsty tailor not appear for his bitters.” 

A short cessation took place in the dialogue, while the 
wench was executing her master’s orders. The summons 
produced no other effect than to draw a shrill reply from 
Desire, whose voice penetrated through the thin board 
coverings of the little dwelling, as readily as sound would 
be conveyed through a sieve. In another moment a win- 
dow was opened, and the worthy housewife thrust her dis- 
turbed visage into the fresh air of the morning. 

“What next ! what next ! ” demanded the offended, and, 
as she was fain to believe, neglected wife, under the impres- 
sion that it was her truant husband making a tardy return 
to his domestic allegiance, who had thus presumed to disturb 
her slumbers. “Is it not enough that you have eloped 


io8 


Ube IRefc IRover 


from my bed and board, for a whole night, but you must 
break in on the natural rest of a whole family, seven blessed 
children, without counting their mother ? O, Hector ! Hec- 
tor ! an example are you getting to be to the young and giddy, 
and a warning will you yet prove to the un thoughtful ! ’ ’ 
“ Bring hither the black book,” said the publican to his 
wife, who had been drawn to a window by the lamentations 
of Desire ; “ I think the woman said something about start- 
ing on a journey between two days ; if such has been the 
philosophy of the good-man, it behooves honest people to 
look into their accounts. Ay, as I live, Keziah, you have 
let the limping beggar get seventeen and sixpence into 
arrears, and that for such trifles as morning-drams and 
nightcaps ! ’ ’ 

“You are wrathy, friend, without reason; the man has 
made a garment for the boy at school, and found the — ’ ’ 

“ Hush, good woman,” interrupted her husband, returning 
the book, and making a sign for her to retire ; “ I dare say 
it will all come round in proper time, and the less noise we 
make about the backslidings of a neighbor, the less will be 
said of our own transgressions. A worthy and hard-working 
mechanic, sir,” he continued, addressing the stranger; “but 
a man who could never get the sun to shine in at his win- 
dows, though, Heaven knows, the glass is none too thick 
for such a blessing.” 

‘ ‘ And do you imagine, on evidence as slight as this we 
have seen, that such a man actually absconded? ” 

“ Why, it is a calamity that has befallen his betters ! ” 
returned the publican, interlocking his fingers across the 
rotundity of his person, with an air of grave consideration. 
“We innkeepers, who live as it were in plain sight of every 
man’s secrets — for it is after a visit to us that one is most 
apt to open his heart — should know something of the 
affairs of a neighborhood. If the good-man Homespun 
could smooth down the temper of his companion as easily 
as he lays a seam in its place, the thing might not occur 
but — Do you drink this morning, sir ? ” 

“ A drop of your best.” 

“As I was saying,” continued the other, furnishing his 


Ube iReb IRover 


IO9 


customer according to his desire, “if a tailor’s goose would 
take the wrinkles out of the ruffled temper of a woman, as 
it does out of the cloth, and then, if after it had done this 
task, a man might eat it, as he would yonder bird hanging 
behind my bar — Perhaps you will have occasion to make 
your dinner with us, too, sir ? ” 

“ I cannot say I shall not,” returned the stranger, paying 
for the dram he had barely tasted ; “it greatly depends on 
the result of my inquiries concerning the different vessels 
in the port. ’ ’ 

“Then would I, though perfectly disinterested, as you 
know, sir, recommend you to make this house your home, 
while you sojourn in the town. It is the resort of most of 
the seafaring men ; and I may say this much of myself, 
without conceit — no man can tell you more of what you 
want to know, than the landlord of the ‘ Foul Anchor. ’ ’ ’ 

“You advise an application to the commander of this 
vessel in the stream, for a berth : will she sail so soon as you 
have named ? ’ ’ 

“With the first wind. I know the whole history of the 
ship, from the day they laid the blocks for her keel, to the 
minute when she let her anchor go where you now see her. 
The great southern heiress, General Grayson’s fine daugh- 
ter, is to be a passenger ; she, and her over-looker, govern- 
ment-lady, I believe they call her — a Mrs. Wyllys — are 
waiting for the signal, up here, at the residence of Madam 
De Tacey ; she that is the relict of the rear-admiral of that 
name, who is full sister to the general, and, therefore, an 
aunt to the young lady, according to my reckoning. Many 
people think the two fortunes will go together ; in which 
case, he will be not only a lucky man, but a rich one, who 
gets Miss Getty Grayson for a wife.” 

The stranger, who had maintained rather an indifferent 
manner during the close of the foregoing dialogue, appeared 
now disposed to enter into it, with a degree of interest 
suited to the sex and condition of the present subject of 
their discourse. After waiting to catch the last syllable 
that the publican chose to expend his breath on, he de- 
manded, a little abruptly, — 


no 


Ube IRefc IRover 


“ And you say the house near us, on the rising ground, is 
the residence of Mrs. De Eacey ? ” 

“ If I did, I know nothing of the matter. By ‘ up here,’ 
I mean half a mile off. It is a place fit for a lady of her 
quality, and none of your elbowy dwellings, like these 
crowded about us. One may easily tell the house, by its 
pretty blinds and its shades. I ’ll engage there are no such 
shades in all Europe, as the very trees that stand before 
the door of Madam De Eacey.” 

“It is very probable,” muttered the stranger, who, not 
appearing quite as sensitive in his provincial admiration as 
the publican, had already relapsed into his former musing 
air. Instead of pushing the discourse, he suddenly turned 
the subject, by making some commonplace remark ; and 
then, repeating the probability of his being obliged to return, 
he walked deliberately away, taking the direction of the 
residence of Mrs. De Eacey. The observing publican would, 
probably, have found sufficient matter for observation in 
this abrupt termination of the interview, had not Desire, 
at that precise moment, broken out of her habitation, and 
diverted his attention, by the peculiarly lively manner in 
which she delineated the character of her delinquent 
husband. 

The reader has probably, ere this, suspected that the in- 
dividual who had conferred with the publican, as a stranger, 
was not unknown to himself. It was, in truth, no other 
than Wilder. But in the completion of his own secret 
purposes, the young mariner left the wordy war in his rear ; 
and turning up the gentle ascent, against the side of which 
the town is built, he proceeded towards the suburbs. 

It was not difficult to distinguish the house he sought, 
among a dozen other similar retreats, by its “ shades,” as the 
innkeeper, in conformity with a provincial use of the word, 
had termed a few really noble elms that grew in the little 
court before its door. In order, however, to assure himself 
that he was right, he confirmed his surmises by actual in- 
quiry, and continued thoughtfully on his path. 

The morning had, by this time, fairly opened, with every 
appearance of another of those fine, bland, autumnal days for 


Ube IReb IRover 


III 


which the climate is, or ought to be, so distinguished. The 
little air there was came from the south, fanning the face of 
our adventurer, as he occasionally paused in his ascent, to 
gaze at the different vessels in the harbor, like a mild breeze 
in June. In short, it was just such a time as one who 
is fond of strolling in the fields is apt to seize on with 
rapture, and which a seaman sets down as a day lost in 
his reckoning. 

Wilder was first drawn from his musings by the sound of 
a dialogue that came from persons who were evidently 
approaching. There was one voice, in particular, that 
caused his blood to thrill, he knew not why, and which 
appeared, unaccountably even to himself, to set in motion 
every latent faculty of his system. Profiting by the forma- 
tion of the ground, he sprang unseen up a little bank, and 
approaching an angle in a low wall, he found himself in 
the immediate proximity of the speakers. 

The wall inclosed the garden and pleasure grounds of a 
mansion, that he now perceived was the residence of Mrs. 
De Tacey. A rustic summer-house, which in the proper 
season had been nearly buried in leaves and flowers, 
stood at no great distance from the road. By its elevation 
and position it commanded a view of the town, the harbor, 
the isles of Massachusetts to the east, those of the Provi- 
dence Plantations to the west, and to the south an illimitable 
expanse of ocean. As it had now lost its leafy covering, 
there was no difficulty in looking directly into its centre, 
through the rude pillars which supported its little dome. 
Here Wilder discovered the very party of whose conversa- 
tion he had been a listener the previous day, while caged 
with the Rover in the loft of the ruin. Though the ad- 
miral’s widow and Mrs. Wyllys were most in advance, 
evidently addressing some one who, like himself, was in the 
public road, the young sailor soon detected the more enticing 
person of the blooming Gertrude in the background. His 
observations were, however, interrupted by a reply from the 
individual who as yet was unseen. Directed by the voice, 
Wilder was soon enabled to perceive the person of a man 
in green old age, who, seated on a stone by the wayside, 


1 12 


XTbe IReb IRover 


appeared to be resting his weary limbs, while he answered 
certain interrogations that were made from the summer- 
house. His head was white, and the hand which grasped a 
long walking-staff, sometimes trembled ; but there was that 
in the costume, the manner, and the voice of the speaker, 
which furnished sufficient evidence of his having been once 
a veteran of the sea. 

“Lord! your ladyship, ma’am,” he said, in tones that 
were getting tremulous, even while they retained the deep 
intonations of his profession, “ we old sea-dogs never stop 
to look into an almanac to see which way the wind will 
come after the next thaw, before we put to sea. It is 
enough for us, that the sailing orders are aboard, and that 
the captain has taken leave of his lady.” 

‘ ‘ Ah ! the very words of the poor lamented admiral ! ’ ’ 
exclaimed Mrs. De Lacey, who had great satisfaction in pur- 
suing the discourse with a superannuated mariner. “ And 
then you are of opinion, honest friend, that when a ship is 
ready she should sail, whether the wind is — ” 

‘ ‘ Here is another follower of the sea, opportunely come 
to lend us his advice, ’ ’ interrupted Gertrude, with a hurried 
air, as if to divert the attention of her aunt from something 
very like a dogmatical termination of an argument that had 
just occurred between her and Mrs. Wyllys ; “ perhaps he 
may serve as an umpire.” 

“ True,” said the latter. “ Pray, what do you think of 
the weather to-day, sir? would it be profitable to sail in 
such a time, or not ? ’ ’ 

The young mariner reluctantly withdrew his eyes from 
the blushing Gertrude, who, in her eagerness to point him 
out, had advanced to the front, and was now shrinking 
back, timidly, to the centre of the building again, like one 
who already repented of her temerity. He then fastened 
his look on her who put the question ; and so long and 
riveted was his gaze, that she saw fit to repeat it, believing 
that what she had first said was not properly understood. 

“ There is little faith to be put in the weather, madam,” 
was the dilatory reply. “ A man has followed the sea to 
but little purpose who is tardy in making that discovery.” 


Ube iReb lRov>er 


113 

There was something so sweet and gentle, at the same 
time that it was manly, in the voice of Wilder, that the 
ladies, by a common impulse, were won to listen. The 
neatness of his attire, which, while it was strictly profes- 
sional, was worn with an air of smartness, and even of 
gentility, that rendered it difficult to suppose he was not 
entitled to lay claim to a higher station in society than that 
in which he actually appeared, aided him also in producing 
a favorable impression. Bending her head, with a manner 
that was intended to be polite, a little more perhaps in 
self-respect than out of consideration to the other, Mrs. De 
Lacey resumed the discourse. 

“ These ladies,” she said, “ are about to embark in yonder 
ship for the province of Carolina, and we were consulting 
concerning the quarter in which the wind will probably 
blow next. But in such a vessel, it cannot matter much, I 
should think, sir, whether the wind were fair or foul.” 

“ I think not,” was the reply. “ She looks to me like a 
ship that will not do much, let the wind be as it may.” 

“She has the reputation of being a very fast sailer. 
Reputation ! we know she is such, having come from home 
to the colonies in the incredibly short passage of seven 
weeks ! But seamen have their favorites and prejudices, I 
believe, like us poor mortals ashore. You will therefore 
excuse me, if I ask this honest veteran for an opinion on 
this particular point also. What do you imagine, friend, to 
be the sailing qualities of yonder ship — she with the pecul- 
iarly high top-gallant booms, and such conspicuous round 
tops ? ’ ’ 

A smile struggled on the lip of Wilder, but he continued 
silent. On the other hand, the old mariner arose, appear- 
ing to examine the ship like one who perfectly compre- 
hended the somewhat untechnical language of the admiral’s 
widow. 

“The ship in the inner harbor, your ladyship,” he an- 
swered, when his examination was finished, “which is, I 
suppose, the vessel that madam means, is just such a ship as 
does a sailor’s eye good to look at. A gallant and a safe 
boat she is, as I will swear ; and as to sailing, though she 


1 1 4 


Ube IReb iRover 


may not be altogether a witch, yet is she a fast craft, or I ’m 
no judge of blue water, or of those that live on it.” 

“ Here is at once an extraordinary difference of opin- 
ion ! ” exclaimed Mrs. De Lacey. “Iam glad, however, 
you pronounce her safe ; for, although seamen love a fast- 
sailing vessel, these ladies will not like her the less for the 
security. I presume, sir, you will not dispute her being 
safe f ” 

“ The very quality I should most deny,” was the laconic 
answer of Wilder. 

‘‘It is very remarkable ! This is a veteran seaman, sir, 
and he appears to think differently.” 

“He may have seen more, in his time, than myself, 
madam ; but I doubt whether he can, just now, see as well. 
This is a great distance to discover the merits or demerits 
of a ship : I have been nigher.” 

“Then you really think there is danger to be appre- 
hended, sir? ” demanded the soft voice of Gertrude, whose 
fears had gotten the better of her diffidence. 

“I do. Had I mother, or sister,” touching his hat, and 
bowing to his fair interrogator, as he uttered the latter word 
with emphasis, “ I would hesitate to let her embark in that 
ship. On my honor, ladies, I do assure you, that I think 
this very vessel in more danger than any ship which has 
left, or probably will leave, a port in the provinces this au- 
tumn.” 

“This is extraordinary ! ” observed Mrs. Wyllys. “ It is 
not the character we have received of the vessel, which has 
been greatly exaggerated, or she is entitled to be consid- 
ered as uncommonly convenient and safe. May I ask, sir, 
on what circumstances you have founded this opinion ? ’ ’ 

“They are sufficiently plain. She is too lean in the 
harping and too full in the counter, to steer. Then, she is 
as wall-sided as a church, and stows too much above the 
water-line. Besides this, she carries no head sail, but all 
the press upon her will be aft, which will jam her into the 
wind, and, more than likely, throw her aback. The day 
will come when that ship will go down stern foremost.” 

His auditors listened to this opinion, which Wilder deliv- 


Ufoe IRefc 1R0v>er 


115 

ered in an oracular and very decided manner, with that sort 
of secret faith and humble dependence, which the unin- 
structed are very apt to lend to those who are initiated in 
the mysteries of any imposing profession. Neither of them 
had certainly a very clear perception of his meaning ; but 
there were danger and death in his very words. Mrs. De 
Lacey felt it incumbent on her own particular advantages, 
however, to manifest how well she comprehended the sub- 
ject. 

‘ ‘ These are certainly very serious evils ! 5 ’ she gravely 
rejoined. “ It is quite unaccountable that my agent should 
have neglected to mention them. Is there any other qual- 
ity, sir, that strikes your eye at this distance, and which 
you deem alarming ? ’ ’ 

“ Too many. You observe that her top-gallant masts 
are fidded abaft ; none of her lofty sails set flying ; and 
then, madam, she has depended on bobstays and gammon- 
ings for the security of that very important part of a vessel, 
the bowsprit.” 

“ Too true ! too true ! ” said Mrs. De Lacey, with a start 
of professional horror. “These things had altogether es- 
caped me ; but I see them all plain enough, now they are 
mentioned. Such neglect is highly culpable; more espe- 
cially to rely on bobstays and gammonings for the security 
of a bowsprit ! Really, Mrs. Wyllys, I can never consent 
that my niece should embark in such a vessel.” 

The calm eye of Wyllys had been fastened on the coun- 
tenance of Wilder while he was speaking, and she now turned 
it with undisturbed serenity on the admiral’s widow. 

“ Perhaps the danger has been a little magnified,” she 
observed. “Let us inquire of this other seaman what he 
thinks on these points. And do you see all these serious 
dangers to be apprehended, friend, in trusting ourselves, at 
this season of the year, in a passage to the Carolinas, aboard 
of yonder ship ? ’ ’ 

“ Lord, madam ! ” said the gray-headed mariner, with a 
chuckling laugh, “these are new-fashioned faults and diffi- 
culties, if they be faults and difficulties at all ! In my time, 
such matters were never heard of ; and I confess I am so 


ii 6 


XTbe IReb IRover 


stupid as not to understand half the young gentleman has 
been saying.” 

“ It is some time, I fancy, old man, since you were last at 
sea,” Wilder coolly observed. 

“Some five or six years since the last time, and fifty 
since the first.” 

“Then you do not see the same causes for apprehen- 
sion ? ” Mrs. Wyllys once more demanded. 

“ Old and worn out as I am, lady, if her captain will give 
me a berth aboard her, I will thank him for the same as 
a favor.” 

“ Misery seeks any relief,” whispered Mrs. De Tacey, be- 
stowing on her companions a significant glance, that paid 
no great compliment to the old man’s motives. “I incline 
to the opinion of the younger seaman ; he supports it with 
substantial, professional reasons.” 

Mrs. Wyllys suspended her questions, just as long as 
complaisance to the last speaker seemed to require ; and then 
she resumed them as follows, addressing her next inquiry 
to Wilder. 

“And how do you explain this difference in judgment, 
between two men who ought both to be so well qualified to 
decide correctly ? ” 

“ I believe there is a well-known proverb which will an- 
swer that question,” returned the young man, smiling ; “but 
some allowance must be made for the improvements in ships ; 
and, perhaps, some little deference to the stations we have 
respectively filled on board them.” 

“ Both very true. Still, one would think the changes of 
half a dozen years cannot be so very considerable, in a 
profession that is so exceedingly ancient.” 

“ Your pardon, madam : they require constant practice to 
be known. Now, I dare say that yonder old worthy tar 
is ignorant of the manner in which a ship, when pressed 
by her canvas, is made ‘ to cut the waves with her taff- 
rail.”’ 

“ Impossible ! ” cried the admiral’s widow, “ the youngest 
and the meanest mariner must have been struck with the 
beauty of such a spectacle.” 


Ube IReb IRover 


117 


“Yes, yes,” returned the old tar, who wore the air of an 
offended man, and who, probably, had he been ignorant of 
any part of his art, was not just then in the temper to con- 
fess it , “ many is the proud ship that I have seen doing 
the very same ; and, as the lady says, a grand and comely 
sight it is ! ” 

Wilder was confounded. He bit his lip, like one who was 
overreached by either excessive ignorance or exceeding cun- 
ning ; but the self-complacency of Mrs. De Lacey spared him 
the necessity of an immediate reply. 

‘ ‘ It would have been an extraordinary circumstance, 
truly, ’ ’ she said, 4 4 that a man should have grown white- 
headed on the seas, and never have been struck with so 
noble a spectacle. But then, my honest tar, you appear to 
be wrong in overlooking the striking faults in yonder ship, 
which this — a — a — this gentleman has just, and so properly, 
named. ’ ’ 

“I do not call them faults, your ladyship. Such is the 
way my late brave and excellent commander always had 
his own ship rigged ; and I am bold to say that a better sea- 
man, or a more honest man, never served in his majesty’s 
fleet.” 

‘ ‘ And you have served the king ! How was your beloved 
commander named ? ’ ’ 

“ How should he be ! By us, who knew him well, he 
was called Fair-weather ; for it was always smooth water, 
and prosperous times, under his orders ; though on shore, 
he was known as the gallant and victorious Rear-Admiral 
De Lacey.” 

“ And did my late revered and skilful husband cause his 
ships to be rigged in this manner? ” said the widow, with a 
tremor in her voice that bespoke how much, and how truly, 
she was overcome by surprise and gratified pride. 

The aged tar lifted his bending frame from the stone, 
gazed wistfully at the relict of him he had just named, and 
bowing low, he answered, — 

“ If I have the honor of seeing my admiral’s lady, it will 
prove a joyful sight to my old eyes ! Sixteen years did I 
serve in his own ship, and five more in the same squadron. 


n8 


Ghe IRefc IRover 


I dare say your ladyship may have heard him speak of the 
captain of the main-top, Bob Bunt? ” 

“ I dare say — I dare say. He loved to talk of those who 
served him faithfully.” 

‘ ‘ Ay, God bless him, and make his memory glorious ! 
He was a kind officer, and one that never forgot a friend, 
whether his duty kept him on a yard or in the cabin. He 
was the sailor’s friend, that very same admiral ! ” 

“This is a grateful man !” said Mrs. De Lacey, wiping 
her eyes, “and I dare say a most competent judge of a 
vessel. And are you quite sure, worthy friend, that my 
late revered husband had all his ships arranged like the one 
of which we have been talking ? ’ ’ 

“ Very sure, madam ; for with my own hands did I assist 
to rig them.” 

“ Even to the bobstays ? ” 

“ And the gammonings, my lady. Were the admiral 
alive and here, he would call yon ‘ a safe and well fitted 
ship, ’ as I am ready to swear. ’ ’ 

Mrs. De Lacey turned, with an air of great dignity and 
entire decision, to Wilder, as she continued, — 

‘ ‘ I have, then, made a small mistake in memory, which 
is not surprising, when one recollects that he who taught 
me so much of the profession is no longer here to continue 
his lessons. We are much obliged to you, sir, for your 
opinion, but we must think that you have overrated the 
danger.” 

“On my honor, madam,” interrupted Wilder, laying his 
hand on his heart, and speaking with singular emphasis, “ I 
am sincere in what I say. I do affirm that I believe there 
will be great danger in embarking in yonder ship ; and I 
call Heaven to witness, that in so saying, I am actuated by 
no malice to her commander, her owners, or any connected 
with her.” 

“We dare say, sir, you are very sincere. We only 
think you are a little in error,” returned the admiral’s 
widow, with a commiserating, and what she intended for a 
condescending, smile. “We are your debtors for your good 
intentions, at least. Come, worthy veteran, we must not 


Ube IReb iRover 


ii 9 

part here. You will gain admission by knocking at my 
door ; and we shall talk further of these matters.” 

Then bowing coolly to Wilder, she led the way up the 
garden, followed by all her companions. The step of Mrs. 

De L,acey was proud, like the tread of one conscious of all 
her advantages ; while that of Wyllys was slow, as if she 
were buried in thought. Gertrude kept close to the side 
of the latter, her face hid beneath the shade of a gypsy hat. 
Wilder fancied that he could discover the stolen and anx- 
ious glance that she threw back towards one who had ex- 
cited a decided emotion in her sensitive bosom, though it . 
was a feeling no more attractive than alarm. He lingered 
until they were lost amid the shrubbery. Then, turning to 
pour out his disappointment on his brother tar, he found 
that the old man had made such good use of his time, as to 
be already within the gate, most probably felicitating himself 
on the prospect of reaping the reward of his recent adula- 
tion. 




CHAPTER IX. 


“He ran this way, and leaped this orchard wall.” 

Shakespeare. 

W ILDER retired from the field like a defeated 
man. Accident, or, as he was willing to term 
it, the sycophancy of the old mariner, had 
counteracted his own little artifice ; and he 
was now left without the remotest chance of being again 
favored with such another opportunity of effecting his 
purpose. We shall not, at this period of the narrative, enter 
into a detail of the feelings and policy which induced our 
adventurer to plot against the apparent interests of those 
with whom he had so recently associated himself ; it is 
enough for our present object, that the facts themselves 
should be distinctly set before the reader. 

The return of the disappointed young sailor towards the 
town was moody and slow. More than once he stopped 
short in the descent, and fastened his eyes, for a minute to- 
gether, on the different vessels in the harbor. But in these 
frequent halts, no evidence of the particular interest he 
took in any one of the ships escaped him. Perhaps his 
gaze at the southern trader was longer and most earnest, 
than at any other ; though his eye, at times, wandered 
curiously, and even anxiously, over every craft that lay 
within the shelter of the haven. 

The customary hour for exertion had now arrived, and 
the sounds of labor were beginning to be heard, issuing from 
every quarter of the place. The songs of the mariners 
were rising on the calm of the morning, with their peculiar, 
long-drawn intonations. The ship in the inner harbor was 


120 


XTbe lRet> IRover 


1 2 1 


among the first to furnish this proof of the industry of her 
people, and of her approaching departure. It was only as 
these movements caught his eye, that Wilder seemed to be 
thoroughly awakened from his abstraction, and to pursue 
his observations with an undivided mind. He saw the sea- 
men ascend the rigging, in that lazy manner which is so 
strongly contrasted by their activity in moments of need ; 
and here and there a human form was showing itself on 
the black and ponderous yards. In a few moments, the 
foretop-sail fell from its compact compass on the yard into 
graceful and careless festoons. This, the attentive Wilder 
well knew, was, among all trading vessels, the signal of 
sailing. In a few more minutes, the lower angles of this 
important sail were drawn to the extremities of the corre- 
sponding spar beneath ; and then the heavy yard was seen 
slowly ascending the mast, dragging after it the opening 
folds of the sail, until the latter was tightened at all its 
edges, displaying itself in one broad, snow-white sheet of 
canvas. Against this wide surface the light currents of air 
fell, and as often receded ; the sail bellying and collapsing 
in a manner to show that, as yet, they were powerless. At 
this point the preparations appeared suspended, as if the 
mariners, having thus invited the breeze, were awaiting to 
see if their invocation was likely to be attended with suc- 
cess. 

It was a natural transition for him, who so closely ob- 
served these indications of departure in the ship so often 
named, to turn his eyes on the vessel which lay without the 
fort, in order to witness the effect so manifest a signal had 
produced in her also. But the closest and the keenest 
scrutiny could detect no sign of any bond of interest between 
the two. While the former was making the movements 
just described, the latter lay at her anchors, without the 
smallest proof that man existed within the mass of her black 
and inanimate hull. So quiet and motionless did she seem, 
that one who had never been instructed in the matter, 
might readily have believed her a fixture in the sea, some 
symmetrical and enormous excrescence, thrown up by the 
waves, with its mazes of lines and pointed fingers, or one of 


122 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


those fantastic monsters that are believed to exist in the 
bottom of the ocean, darkened by the fogs and tempests of 
ages. To the understanding eye of Wilder, however, she 
exhibited a very different spectacle. He easily saw, through 
all this apparently drowsy quietude, those signs of readiness 
which none but a seaman could discover. The cable, in- 
stead of stretching in a long declining line towards the 
water, was “short,” or nearly “up and down,” as it is 
equally termed in technical language, just “ scope ” enough 
being allowed out-board to resist the power of the lively 
tide that acted on the deep keel of the vessel. All her 
boats were in the water, so disposed and prepared, as to 
convince him they were in a state to be employed in towing 
in the shortest possible time. Not a sail or a yard was out 
of its place, undergoing those repairs and examinations 
which the mariner is wont to make, when lying within the 
security of a suitable haven ; nor was there a single rope 
wanting, amid the hundreds which interlaced the blue sky 
that formed the background of the picture, that might be 
necessary in bringing every art of facilitating motion into 
use. In short, the vessel, while seeming least prepared, 
was most in a condition to move, or, if necessary, to resort 
to her means of offence and defence. The boarding-nettings, 
it is true, were triced to the rigging, as on the previous day ; 
but a sufficient apology was to be found for this act of ex- 
treme caution, in the war which exposed her to attacks from 
the light French cruisers, that so often ranged from the 
islands of the West Indies, along the whole coast of the con- 
tinent, and in the position the ship had taken, without the 
ordinary defences of the harbor. In this state, the vessel, to 
one who knew her real character, appeared like some beast 
of prey, or venomous reptile, that lay in an assumed leth- 
argy, to delude the unconscious victim within the limits of its 
leap, or nigh enough to receive the deadly blow of its fangs. 

Wilder shook his head, in a manner which said plainly 
enough how well he understood this treacherous tranquillity, 
and continued his walk towards the town, with the same 
deliberate step as before. He had whiled away many min- 
utes unconsciously, and would probably have lost the reck- 


trbe IReb iRover 


123 


oning of as many more, had not his attention been suddenly 
diverted by a slight touch on the shoulder. Starting at this 
unexpected diversion, he turned, and saw that, in his dila- 
tory progress, he had been overtaken by the seaman whom 
he had last met in that very society in which he would have 
given so much to have been included himself. 

“Your young limbs should carry you ahead, master,” 
said the latter, when he had succeeded in attracting the at- 
tention of Wilder, “ like a ’Mudian going with a clean full ; 
and yet I have fore-reached upon you with my old legs, in 
such a manner as to bring us again within hail.” 

“ Perhaps you enjoy the extraordinary advantage of ‘ cut- 
ting the waves with your taffrail,’ ” returned Wilder with a 
sneer. ‘ ‘ There can be no accounting for the headway one 
makes, when sailing in that remarkable manner.” 

“ I see, brother, you are offended that I followed your 
motions, though, in so doing, I did no more than obey a 
signal of your own setting. Did you expect an old sea-dog 
like me, who has stood his watch so long in a flag-ship, to 
confess ignorance in any matter that of right belongs to blue 
water ? How the devil was I to know that there is not some 
sort of craft, among the thousands that are getting into 
fashion, which sails best stern foremost ? They say a ship 
is modelled from a fish ; and, if such be the case, it is only 
to make one after the fashion of a crab, or an oyster, to have 
the very thing you named.” 

“It is well, old man. You have had your reward, I 
suppose, in a handsome present from the admiral’s widow, 
and you may now lie-by for a season, without caring much 
as to the manner in which they build their ships in future. 
Pray, do you intend to shape your course much further 
down this hill ? ’ ’ 

“Until I get to the bottom.” 

“Iam glad of it, for it is my especial intention to go up 
it again. As we say at sea, when our conversation is ended, 
‘ A good time to you ! ’ ” 

The old seaman laughed, when he saw the young man 
turn abruptly on his heel, and begin to retrace the very 
ground along which he had just before descended. 


124 


XT be IRefc 1Rov>er 


“Ah! you have never sailed with a rear-admiral,” he 
said, continuing his own course in the former direction, and 
picking his way with a care suited to his age and infirmi- 
ties. “ No, there is no getting the finish, even at sea, with- 
out a cruise or two under a flag, and that at the mizzen, 
too ! ” 

“ Intolerable old hypocrite ! ” muttered Wilder between 
his teeth. “The rascal has seen better days, and is now 
perverting his knowledge to juggle a foolish woman. I am 
well quit of the knave, who, I dare say, has adopted lying 
for his trade, now labor is unproductive. I will go back. 
The coast is quite clear, and who can say what may happen 
next ? ’ * 

Most of the foregoing paragraph was actually uttered 
in the suppressed manner already described, while the rest 
was merely meditated, which, considering the fact that our 
adventurer had no auditor, was quite as well as if he had 
spoken it through a trumpet. The expectation thus vaguely 
expressed, however, was not likely to be soon realized. 
Wilder sauntered up the hill, endeavoring to assume the 
unconcerned air of an idler, if by chance his return should 
excite attention ; but though he lingered long in open view 
of the windows of Mrs. De Lacey’s villa, he was not able 
to catch another glimpse of its tenants. There were very 
evident symptoms of the approaching journey, in the trunks 
and packages that left the building for the town, and in the 
hurried and busy manner of the few servants that he occa- 
sionally saw ; but it would seem that the principal personages 
of the establishment had withdrawn into the secret recesses 
of the building, probably for the very natural purpose of 
confidential communion and affectionate leave-taking. He 
was turning, vexed and disappointed, from his anxious and 
fruitless watch, when he once more heard female voices on 
the inner side of the low wall against which he had been 
leaning. The sounds approached ; nor was it long before his 
quick ears again recognized the musical voice of Gertrude. 

“ It is tormenting ourselves, without sufficient reason, my 
dear madam,” she said, as the speaker drew sufficiently 
nigh to be distinctly overheard, “to allow anything that 


XTbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


I2 5 


may have fallen from such a— such an individual, to make 
the slightest impression. ’ ’ 

“I feel the justice of what you say, my love,” returned 
the mournful voice of her governess,” and yet am I so weak 
as to be unable entirely to shake off a sort of superstitious 
feeling on this subject. Gertrude, would you not wish to 
see that youth again ? ” 

” Me, ma’am ! ” exclaimed her H'tve, in a sort of alarm. 
” Why should you, or I, wish to see an utter stranger again ? 
and one so low — not low, perhaps — but one who is surely 
not altogether a very suitable companion for — ” 

“Well-born ladies, you would say. Why do you imag- 
ine the young man to be so much our inferior? ” 

Wilder thought there was a melody in the intonations of 
the youthful voice of the maiden, which in some measure 
excused the personality, as she answered, — 

‘ ‘ I am certainly not so fastidious in my notions of birth 
and station as aunt De Lacey,” she said, laughing ; ” but I 
should forget some of your own instructions, dear Mrs. 
Wyllys, did I not feel that education and manners make a 
sensible difference in the opinions and characters of all us 
poor mortals.” 

“Very true, my child. But I confess I saw or heard 
nothing that induces me to believe the young man, of whom 
we are speaking, either uneducated or vulgar. On the con- 
trary, his language and pronunciation were those of a gen- 
tleman, and his air was quite suited to his utterance. He 
had the frank and simple manner of his profession ; but you 
are not now to learn that youths of the first families in the 
provinces, or even in the kingdom, are often placed in the 
service of the marine. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ But they are officers, dear madam : this — this individual 
wore the dress of a common mariner.” 

” Not altogether. It was finer in its quality, and more 
tasteful in its fashion than is customary. I have known 
admirals do the same in their moments of relaxation. Sail- 
ors of condition often love to carry about them the testimo- 
nials of their profession, without any of the trappings of 
their rank.” 


126 


Qfte 1Ret> 1Rov>er 


“You then think he was an officer — perhaps in the king’s 
service ? ’ ’ 

“He might well have been so, though the fact that 
there is no cruiser in the port would seem to contradict it. 
But it was not so trifling a circumstance that awakened the 
unaccountable interest that I feel. Gertrude, my love, it 
was my fortune to have been much with seamen in early 
life. I seldom see one of that age, and of that spirited and 
manly mien, without feeling emotion. But I tire you ; let 
us talk of other things.” 

“Not in the least, dear madam,” Gertrude hurriedly 
interrupted. “Since you think the stranger a gentleman, 
there can be no harm — that is, it is not quite so improper, 
I believe — to speak of him. Can there then be the danger 
he would make us think, in trusting ourselves in a ship of 
which we have so good a report ? ’ ’ 

“ There was a strange, I had almost said wild, admixture 
of irony and concern in his manner, that is inexplicable ! 
He certainly uttered nonsense part of the time ; but then he 
did not appear to do it without a serious object. Gertrude, 
you are not as familiar with nautical expressions as myself ; 
and perhaps you are ignorant that your good aunt, in her 
admiration of a profession that she has certainly a right to 
love, sometimes makes — ” 

“ I know it — I know it; at least I often think so,” the 
other interrupted, in a manner which plainly manifested 
that she found no pleasure in dwelling on the disagree- 
able subject. “ It was exceedingly presuming, madam, in 
a stranger, however, to amuse himself, if he did it, with 
so amiable and so trivial a weakness, if indeed weakness 
it be.” 

“ It was,” Mrs. Wyllys steadily continued ; “ and yet he 
did not appear to me like one of those empty minds that 
find pleasure in exposing the follies of others. You may 
remember, Gertrude, that yesterday, while at the ruin, Mrs. 
De Tacey made some remarks expressive of her admiration 
of a ship under sail ? ’ ’ 

“Yes, yes, I remember them,” said the niece, a little 
impatiently. 


Ube iReb lRov>er 


I27 


“One of her terms was particularly incorrect, as I hap- 
pen to know from my own familiarity with the language of 
sailors.” 

“ I thought as much by the expression of your eye,” re- 
turned Gertrude ; “ but — ” 

“ listen, my love. It certainly was not remarkable that 
a lady should make a trifling error in the use of so peculiar 
a language ; but it is singular that a seaman himself should 
commit the same fault in precisely the same words. This 
the youth of whom we are speaking did ; and, what is no 
less surprising, the old man assented to the same, just as if 
they had been correctly uttered.” 

“Perhaps,” said Gertrude, in a low tone, “they may 
have heard that attachment to this description of conversa- 
tion is a foible of Mrs. De L,acey. I am sure, after this, 
dear madam, you cannot any longer consider the stranger a 
gentleman ! ” 

‘ ‘ I should think no more about it, love, were it not for a 
feeling I can neither account for nor define. I would I 
could again see him ! ’ * 

A slight exclamation from her companion interrupted her 
words ; and, the next instant, the subject of her thoughts 
leaped the wall, apparently in quest of the rattan that had 
fallen at the feet of Gertrude, occasioning her alarm. After 
apologizing for his intrusion, and recovering his lost prop- 
erty, Wilder was slowly preparing to retire, as if nothing 
had happened. There was a softness and delicacy in his 
manner, which was probably intended to convince the 
younger of the ladies that he was not entirely without some 
claims to the title she had recently denied him, and which 
was certainly not without its effect. The countenance of 
Mrs. Wyllys was pale ; her lip quivered, though the steadi- 
ness of her voice proved it was not with alarm, and she 
hastily said, — 

“ Remain a moment, sir, if your presence is not required 
elsewhere. There is something so remarkable in this meet- 
ing, that I could wish to improve it.” 

Wilder bowed, and again faced the ladies whom he had 
just been about to quit, like one who felt he had no right to 


128 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


intrude a moment longer than had been necessary to recover 
that which had been lost by his pretended awkwardness. 
When Mrs. Wyllys found that her wish was so unexpectedly 
realized, she hesitated as to the manner in which she should 
next proceed. 

“ I have been thus bold, sir,” she said, in some embarrass- 
ment, ‘ ‘ on account of the opinion you so lately expressed 
concerning the vessel which now lies ready to put to sea, the 
instant she is favored with a wind.” 

“ The Royal Caroline ? ” Wilder carelessly replied. 

“That is her name, I believe.” 

“I hope, madam, that nothing which I have said,” he 
hastily continued, “will have an effect to prejudice you 
against the ship. I will pledge myself that she is made of 
excellent materials, and then I have not the least doubt but 
she is very ably commanded.” 

“And yet have you not hesitated to say, that you con- 
sider a passage in this very vessel more dangerous than one 
in any other ship that will probably leave a port of the 
provinces in many months to come. ’ ’ 

“I did,” answered Wilder, with a manner not to be 
mistaken. 

“ Will you explain your reasons for this opinion ? ” 

“ If I remember rightly, I gave them to the lady whom I 
had the honor to see an hour ago.” 

“ That individual, sir, is no longer here, neither is she to 
trust her person in the vessel. This young lady and myself, 
with our attendants, will be the only passengers.” 

“I understood it so,” returned Wilder, keeping his gaze 
riveted on the speaking countenance of Gertrude. 

“ And, now that there is no apprehension of any mistake, 
may I ask you to repeat the reasons why you think there 
will be danger in embarking in the Royal Caroline ? ’ ’ 

Wilder started, and even had the grace to color, when he 
met the attentive look with which Mrs. Wyllys awaited his 
answer. 

“ You would not have me repeat, madam,” he stammered, 
“what I have already said on the subject ? ” 

‘ ‘ I would not, sir ; once will suffice for such an explana- 


XTbe 'IRefc iRovec 


I29 


tion ; still, I am persuaded you have other reasons for your 
words.’ ’ 

“ It is exceedingly difficult for a seaman to speak of ships 
in any other than technical language, which must be the 
next thing to being unintelligible to one of your sex. You 
have never been at sea, madam? ” 

“Very often.” 

“ Then I may hope, possibly, to make myself understood. 
You must be conscious, madam, that no small part of the 
safety of a ship depends on the very material point of keep- 
ing her right side uppermost : sailors call it ‘ making her 
stand up.’ Now, I need not say, I am quite sure, to a lady 
of your intelligence, that if the Caroline fall on her beam, 
there will be imminent hazard to all on board ? ’ ’ 

“ Nothing can be clearer ; the same risk would be incurred 
in any other vessel.” 

“ Without doubt, if any other vessel should trip. But I 
have pursued my profession for many years, without meet- 
ing with such a misfortune, but once. Then, the fastenings 
of the bowsprit — ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Are good as ever came from the hand of a rigger, ’ ’ said 
a voice behind them. 

The whole party turned, and beheld, at a little distance, 
the old seaman already introduced, mounted on some object 
on the other side of the wall, against which he was very 
coolly leaning, and whence he overlooked the whole of the 
interior of the grounds. 

‘ ‘ I have been at the water-side to look at the boat, at 
the wish of Madam De Lacey, the widow of my late noble 
commander and admiral ; and, let other men think as they 
may, I am ready to swear that the Royal Caroline has as 
well-secured a bowsprit as any ship that carries the British 
flag ! Ay, nor is that all I will say in her favor ; she is 
throughout neatly and lightly sparred, and has no more of 
a wall-side than the walls of yonder church tumble-home. 
I am an old man, and my reckoning has got to the last leaf 
of the log-book ; therefore it is little interest that I have, or 
can have, in this brig or that schooner ; but this much will 
I say, which is, that it is just as wicked, and as little likely 
9 


130 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


to be forgiven, to speak scandal of a wholesome and stout 
ship, as it is to talk amiss of a Christian. ’ ’ 

The old man spoke with energy, and with a show of 
honest indignation, which did not fail to make an impression 
on the ladies, at the same time that it brought certain un- 
grateful admonitions to the conscience of the understanding 
Wilder. 

“ You perceive, sir,” said Mrs. Wyllys, after waiting in 
vain for the reply of the young seaman, “that it is very 
possible for two men, of equal advantages, to disagree on a 
professional point. Which am I to believe ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Whichever your own excellent sense should tell you is 
most likely to be correct. I repeat, and in a sincerity to 
whose truth I call Heaven to witness, that no mother or sister 
of mine should, with my consent, embark in the Caroline. * ’ 

“ This is incomprehensible,” said Mrs. Wyllys, turning to 
Gertrude, and speaking only for her ear. “ My reason tells 
me we have been trifled with by this young man ; and yet 
his protestations are so earnest, and apparently so sincere, 
that I cannot shake off the impression they have made. 
To which of the two, my love, do you feel most inclined to 
yield credence ? ” 

“You know how very ignorant I am, dear madam, of all 
these things, ’ ’ said Gertrude, dropping her eyes to the faded 
sprig she was plucking : ‘ ‘ but to me that old wretch has a 
very presuming and vicious look.” 

“You then think the younger most entitled to belief? ” 
“Why not, since you think he is a gentleman ? ” 

“I know not that his superior situation in life entitles 
him to greater credit. Men often obtain such advantages 
to abuse them. I am afraid, sir,” continued Mrs. Wyllys, 
turning to the expecting Wilder, ‘ ‘ that, unless you see fit 
to be more frank, we shall be compelled to refuse you our 
faith, and must persevere in the intention to profit by the 
opportunity of the Royal Caroline, to get to the Carolinas.” 

“From the bottom of my heart, madam, I regret the 
determination.” 

“ It may still be in your power to change it, by being 
explicit. ’ ’ 


XTbe IRefc IRcwer 


131 

Wilder appeared to muse ; once or twice his lips moved, as 
if he were about to speak. Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude awaited 
his intentions with evident interest ; but, after a long and seem- 
ingly hesitating pause, he disappointed both, by saying,— 

‘ ‘ I am sorry that I have not the ability to make myself 
better understood. It can only be the fault of my dulness ; 
for I again affirm that the danger is as apparent to my eyes 
as the sun at noonday.” 

“Then we must continue blind, sir,” returned Mrs. 
Wyllys, with a cold salute. “I thank you for your good 
intentions ; but you cannot blame us for not consenting 
to follow advice which is buried in so much obscurity. 
Although in our own grounds, we shall be pardoned the 
rudeness of leaving you. The hour appointed for our de- 
parture has arrived.” 

Wilder returned the grave bow of Mrs. Wyllys, with one 
quite as formal as her own, though he bent with greater 
grace, and with more cordiality, to the deep hurried courtesy 
of Gertrude Grayson. He remained in the precise spot in 
which they left him, until he saw them enter the villa ; and 
he even fancied he could catch the anxious expression of 
another timid glance which the latter threw in his direction, 
as her light form appeared to float from before his sight. 
Placing one hand on the wall, the young sailor then leaped 
into the highway. As his feet struck the ground, the slight 
shock seemed to awake him from his abstraction, and he 
became conscious that he stood within six feet of the old 
mariner, who had now twdce stepped so rudely between him 
and the object he had so much at heart. The latter did 
not allow him time to give utterance to his disappointment, 
for he was the first himself to speak. 

“ Come, brother,” he said, in friendly, confidential tones, 
and shaking his head, like one who wished to show to his com- 
panion that he was aware of the deception he had attempted 
to practise; “come, brother, you have stood far enough 
on this tack, and it is time to try another. I ’ve been young 
myself in my time, and I know what a hard matter it is to 
give the devil a wide berth, when there is fun to be found 
in sailing in his company. But old age brings us to our 


132 


ftbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


reckonings ; and when life is getting on short allowance 
with a poor fellow, he begins to think of being sparing with 
his tricks, just as water is saved in a ship when the calms 
set in, after it has been spilt about decks like rain, for weeks 
and months on end. Thought comes with gray hairs, and 
no one is the worse for providing a little of it among his 
other small stores.” 

“ I had hoped, when I gave you the bottom of the hill, 
and took the top myself,” returned Wilder, without even 
deigning to look at his disagreeable companion, “ that we 
had parted company forever. As you seem, however, to pre- 
fer the high ground, I leave you to enjoy it at your leisure ; 
I shall now descend into the town.” 

The old man shuffled after him, with a gait that rendered 
it difficult for Wilder, who was by this time in a fast walk, 
to outstrip him without resorting to the undignified expe- 
dient of actual flight. Vexed alike with himself and his 
tormentor, he was tempted to offer some violence to the lat- 
ter ; and then, recalled to his recollection by the dangerous 
impulse, he moderated his pace, and continued his route, 
with a determination to be superior to any emotions that 
such a pitiful object could excite. 

“You were going under such a press of sail, young mas- 
ter,” said the stubborn old mariner, who still kept a pace 
or two in his rear, “ that I had to set everything to hold 
way with you ; but you now seem to be getting reasonable, 
and we may as well lighten the passage by a little profitable 
talk. You had nearly made the oldish lady believe the good 
ship Royal Caroline was the flying Dutchman.” 

‘ ‘ And why did you see fit to undeceive her ? ’ ’ bluntly 
demanded Wilder. 

“Would you have a man, who has followed blue water 
fifty years, scandalize wood and iron after so wild a manner? 
The character of a ship is as dear to an old sea-dog as the 
character of his wife or his sweetheart.” 

“ Hark ye, friend ; you live, I suppose, like other people, 
by eating and drinking ? ’ ’ 

“A little of the first, and a good deal of the last/’ 2e- 
turned the other, with a chuckle. 


tlfoe 1 Ret) lftov>er 


133 


“ And you get both, like most seamen, by hard work, great 
risk, and the severest exposure ? ” 

“ Hum ! ‘ Making our money like horses, and spending 

it like asses ! ’—that is said to be the way with us all.” 

“Now, then, you have an opportunity of making some 
with less labor ; you may spend it to suit your own fancy. 
Will you engage in my service for a few hours, with this for 
your bounty, and as much more for wages, provided you 
deal honestly ? ’ ’ 

The old man stretched out a hand, and took the guinea 
which Wilder had showed over his shoulder without appear- 
ing to deem it at all necessary to face his recruit. 

“It’s no sham?” said the latter, stopping to ring the 
metal on a stone. 

“ ’T is gold, as pure as ever came from the mint.” 

The other very coolly pocketed the coin ; and then, with a 
certain hardened and decided way, as if he were ready for 
anything, he demanded, — 

“ What hen-roost am I to rob for this? ” 

“You are to do no such pitiful act ; you have only to per- 
form a little of that which, I fancy, you are no stranger to. 
Can you keep a false log ? ’ ’ 

“ Ay ; and swear to it, on occasion. I understand you. 
You are tired of twisting the truth like a new-laid rope, and 
you wish to turn the job over to me.” 

“ Something so. You must unsay all you have said con- 
cerning yonder ship ; and, as you have had cunning enough 
to get on the weather side of Mrs. De Lacey, you must im- 
prove your advantage, by making matters a little worse than 
I have represented them to be. Tell me, that I may judge 
of your qualifications, did you, in truth, ever sail with the 
worthy rear-admiral ? ” 

“ As I am an honest and religious Christian, I never 
heard of the worthy old man before yesterday. O ! you may 
trust me in these matters ! I am not likely to spoil a history 
for want of facts. ’ ’ 

“ I think you will do. Now listen to my plan — ” 

“Stop, worthy messmate,” interrupted the other; “ ‘stones 
can hear, ’ they say on shore ; we sailors know that the 


134 


Uhc IRefc 1Rov>er 


pumps have ears on board a ship : have you ever seen such 
a place as the ‘ Foul Anchor * tavern in this town ? ” 

“ I have been there.” 

“I hope you like it well enough to go again. Here we 
will part. You shall haul on the wind, being the lightest 
sailer, and make a stretch or two among these houses, until 
you are well to windward of yonder church. You will 
then have plain sailing down upon hearty Joe Joram’s, where 
is to be found as snug an anchorage for an honest trader as 
in any inn in the colonies. I will keep away down this hill, 
and, considering the difference in our rate of sailing, we 
shall not be long after one another in port.” 

‘ ‘ And what is to be gained by so much manoeuvring ? 
Can you listen to nothing which is not steeped in rum ? ’ ’ 

“ You offend me by the word. You shall see what it is to 
send a sober messenger on your errands, when the time 
conies. But, suppose we are seen speaking to each other on 
the highway — why, as you are in such low repute just now, 
I shall lose my character with the ladies altogether.” 

“There maybe reason in that. Hasten, then, to meet 
me ; for, as they spoke of embarking soon, there is not a 
minute to lose.” 

“No fear of their breaking ground so suddenly,” re- 
turned the old man, holding the palm of his hand above his 
head to catch the wind. ‘ ‘ There is not yet air enough to 
cool the burning cheeks of that young beauty ; and, depend 
on it, the signal will not be given to them until the sea- 
breeze is fairly come in.” 

Wilder waved his hand, and stepped lightly along the 
road the other had indicated to him, ruminating on the fig- 
ure which the fresh and youthful charms of Gertrude had 
extorted from one even as old and as coarse as his new ally. 
His companion followed his person, for a moment, with an 
amused look and an ironical cast of the eye ; and then he 
also quickened his pace, in order to reach the place of ren- 
dezvous in sufficient season. 



CHAPTER X. 

“ Forewarn him, that he use no scurrilous words. ” 

Winter's Tale . 

A S Wilder approached the “Foul Anchor,” he 
beheld every symptom of a strong excitement 
existing within the bosom of the hitherto peaceful 
town. More than half the women, and perhaps 
one fourth of all the men, within a reasonable proximity of 
that well-known inn, were assembled before its door, listen- 
ing to one of the former sex, who declaimed in tones so 
shrill and penetrating, as not to leave the proprietors of the 
curious and attentive countenances in the outer circle of the 
crowd the smallest rational ground of complaint on the score 
of impartiality. Our adventurer hesitated, with the sudden 
consciousness of one but newly embarked in such enterprises 
as that in which he had so recently enlisted, when he first saw 
these signs of commotion ; nor did he determine to proceed, 
until he caught a glimpse of his aged confederate, elbowing 
his way through the mass of bodies, with a perseverance 
and an energy that promised to bring him right speedily 
into the very presence of her who uttered such piercing 
plaints. Encouraged by this example, the young man 
advanced, but was content to take his position in a situation 
that left him entire command of his limbs, and, conse- 
quently, in a condition to make a timely retreat, should the 
latter measure prove expedient. 

“ I call on you, Earthly Potter, and you, Preserved Green, 
and you, Faithful Wanton,” cried Desire, as he came within 
hearing, pausing to catch a morsel of breath, before she pro- 
ceeded in her affecting appeal to the neighborhood, “and 

i35 



136 


TTbe IReb IRover 


you too, Upright Crook, and you too, Relent Flint, and you, 
Wealthy Poor , 1 to be witnesses and testimonials in my 
behalf. You, and all and each of you can qualify, if you 
will, that I have ever been a slaving and loving consort of 
the man who has deserted me in my age, leaving so many 
of his own children on my hands, to feed and to rear, 
besides — ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ What certainty is there, ’ ’ interrupted the landlord of 
the “ Foul Anchor ” most inopportunely, “ that the good- 
man has absconded ? It was a merry day, the one that is 
just gone, and it is quite in reason to believe your husband 
was, like some others I can name — a thing I shall not be 
so unwise as to do — a little of what I call how-come-ye-so, 
and that his nap holds on longer than common. I ’ll en- 
gage we shall all see the honest tailor creeping out of some 
of the barns shortly, as fresh and as ready for his bitters 
as if he had not wet his throat with cold water since the 
last time of general rejoicing.” 

A low but pretty general laugh followed this effort of 
tavern wit, though it failed in exciting even a smile on the 
disturbed visage of Desire, which, by its doleful outline, 
appeared to have taken leave of all its risible properties 
forever. 

“ Not he, not he,” exclaimed the disconsolate consort of 
the good-man ; “he has not the heart to get himself cour- 
ageous in loyal drinking, on such an occasion as a merry- 
making on account of his majesty’s glory : he was a man 
altogether for work ; and it is chiefly for his hard labor 
that I have reason to complain. After being so long used 
to rely on his toil, it is a sore cross to a dependent woman, 
to be thrown suddenly and altogether on herself for support. 
But I ’ll be revenged on him, if there ’s a law to be found in 
Rhode Island, or in the Providence Plantations ! Uet him 
dare to keep his pitiful image out of my sight the lawful 
time, and then, when he returns, he shall find himself, as 
many a vagabond has been before him, without wife, as 

1 This whimsical collection of names may strike the reader as over- 
charged, and yet they are all taken from the local history of Rhode 
Island. 


Ufoe iReb iRover 


137 


he will be without a house to lay his graceless head in.” 1 
Then, catching a glimpse of the inquiring face of the old 
seaman, who by this time had worked his way to her very 
side she abruptly added, “Here is a stranger in the place, 
and one who has lately arrived ! Did you meet a strag- 
gling runaway, friend, in your journey hither? ” 

“ I had too much trouble in navigating my old hulk on 
dry land, to log the name and rate of every craft I fell in 
with, returned the other, with infinite composure; “and 
yet, now you speak of such a thing, I do remember to have 
come within hale of a poor fellow, just about the beginning 
of the morning-watch, somewhere hereaway, up in the 
bushes between this town and the bit of a ferry that carries 
one on to the main. ’ ’ 

“What sort of a man was he?” demanded five or six 
anxious voices, in a breath ; among which the tones of De- 
sire, however, maintained their supremacy, rising above those 
of all the others like the strains of a first-rate artist flourish- 
ing a quaver above the more modest trills of the rest of the 
troupe. 

‘ ‘ What sort of a man ! Why, a fellow with his arms 
rigged athwart-ship, and his legs stepped like those of all 
other Christians, to be sure ; but now you speak of it, I re- 
member that he had a bit of a sheep-shank in one of his legs, 
and rolled a good deal as he went ahead.” 

“ It was he ! ” added the same chorus of voices. Five or 
six of the speakers instantly stole out of the throng, with 
the intention of hurrying after the delinquent, in order to 
secure the payment of certain small balances of account, in 
which the unhappy and much traduced good-man stood 
indebted to the several parties. Had we leisure to record 
the manner in which these praiseworthy efforts to save 

1 It would seem, from this declaration, that certain legal antiqua- 
rians, who have contended that the community is indebted to Desire 
for the unceremonious manner of clipping the nuptial knot, which is 
so well known to exist, even to this hour, in the community of which 
she was a member, are entirely in the wrong. It evidently did not 
take its rise in her example, since she clearly alludes to it as a means 
before resorted to by the injured innocents of her own sex. 


i3» 


XTbe IReb iRover 


an honest penny were conducted, the reader might find 
much subject of amusement in the secret diligence with 
which each worthy tradesman endeavored to outwit his 
neighbor on the occasion, as well as in the cunning subter- 
fuges which were adopted to veil their real designs, when 
all met at the ferry, deceived and disappointed in their ob- 
ject. As Desire, however, had neither legal demand on, 
nor hope of favor from, her truant husband, she was content 
to pursue, on the spot, such further inquiries in behalf of 
the fugitive as she saw fit to make. It is possible the pleas- 
ures of freedom, in the shape of the contemplated divorce, 
were already floating before her active mind, with the 
soothing perspective of second nuptials, backed by the influ- 
ence of such another picture as might be drawn from the 
recollections of her first love ; the whole having a manifest 
tendency to pacify her awakened spirit, and to give a cer- 
tain portion of directness and energy to the subsequent 
interrogatories. 

“Had he a thieving look?” she demanded, without at- 
tending to the manner in which she was so suddenly deserted 
by all those who had just expressed the strongest sympathy 
in her loss. “Was he a man that had the air of a sneak- 
ing runaway ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ As for his head-piece, I will not engage to give a very 
true account,” returned the old mariner ; “ though he had a 
look of one who had been kept, a good deal of his time, in 
the lee-scuppers. If I should give an opinion, the poor devil 
has had too much — ’ ’ 

“ Idle time, you would say ; yes, yes ; it has been his 
misfortune to be out of work a good deal latterly, and 
wickedness has got into his head for want of something 
better to think of. Too much — ’ ’ 

“Wife,” interrupted the old man emphatically. Another 
general, and a far less equivocal laugh at the expense of 
Desire, succeeded this blunt declaration. Nothing intimi- 
dated by such a manifest assent to the opinion of the hardy 
seaman, the undaunted virago resumed, — 

“ Ah ! you little know the suffering and forbearance I 
have endured with the man in so many long years. Had 


Ube 1 Reb iRcver 


139 


the fellow you met the look of one who had left an injured 
woman behind him ? ” 

“ I can’t say there was anything about him which said, 
in so many words, that the woman he had left at her moor- 
ings was more or less injured,” returned the tar, with com- 
mendable discrimination ; ‘ ‘ but there was enough about him 
to show that, however and wherever he may have stowed 
his wife, if wife she was, he had not seen fit to leave all 
her outfit at home. The man had plenty of female tog- 
gery around his neck ; I suppose he found it more agree- 
able than her arms.” 

‘ ‘ What ! ’ ’ exclaimed Desire, looking aghast ; ‘ ‘ has he 
dared to rob me? What had he of mine? not the gold 
beads?” 

“ I ’ll not swear they were gold.” 

‘ ‘ The villain ! ’ ’ continued the enraged termagant, catch- 
ing her breath like a person that had just been submerged 
in water longer than is agreeable to human nature, and 
forcing her way through the crowd with such vigor as soon 
to be in a situation to fly to her secret hoards, in order to 
ascertain the extent of her misfortune ; ‘ ‘ the sacrilegious 
villain ! to rob the wife of his bosom, the mother of his own 
children, and — ” 

“Well, well,” again interrupted the landlord of the 
“Foul Anchor,” with the unseasonable voice, “I never 
before heard the good-man suspected of roguery, though 
the neighborhood was never backward in calling him 
chicken-hearted. ’ ’ 

The old seaman looked the publican full in the face, with 
much meaning in his eye, as he answered, — 

“ If the honest tailor never robbed any but that virago, 
there would be no great thieving sin to be laid to his ac- 
count ; for every bead he had about him would n’t serve to 
pay his ferriage. I could carry all the gold on his neck in 
my eye, and see none the worse for it. But it is a shame 
to stop the entrance into a licensed tavern with such a mob, 
as if it were an embargoed port ; and so I ’ve sent the 
woman after her valuables, and all the idlers, as you see, in 
her wake.” 


140 


Ube 1 Reb 1Ro\?er 


Joe Joram gazed on the speaker like a man enthralled 
by some mysterious charm ; neither answering, nor altering 
the direction of his eye, for near a minute. Then suddenly, 
breaking out in a deep and powerful laugh, as if he were not 
backward in enjoying the artifice, which certainly had pro- 
duced the effect of removing the crowd from his own door 
to that of the absent tailor, he flourished his arm in the way 
of greeting, and exclaimed, — 

“Welcome, Tarry Bob; welcome, old boy, welcome! 
From what cloud have you fallen ? and before what wind 
have you been running, that Newport is again your 
harbor? ” 

“Too many questions to be answered in an open road- 
stead, friend Joram ; and altogether too dry a subject for 
a husky conversation. When I am berthed in one of your 
inner cabins, with a mug of flip and a kid of good Rhode 
Island beef within grappling distance, why, as many ques- 
tions as you choose, and as many answers, you know, as 
suits my appetite.” 

“ And who ’s to pay the piper, honest Bob ? whose ship’s 
purser will pay your check now ? ” continued the publican, 
showing the old sailor in, however, with a readiness that 
seemed to contradict the doubt expressed by his words, of 
any reward for his extraordinary civility. 

‘ ‘ Who ? ’ ’ interrupted the other, displaying the money so 
lately received from Wilder, in such a manner that it might 
be seen by the few bystanders who remained, as if he would 
himself furnish a sufficient apology for the distinguished 
manner in which he was received ; ‘ ‘ who but this gentle- 
man ? I can boast of being backed by the countenance of 
his sacred majesty himself, God bless him ! ” 

“God bless him!” echoed several of the loyal lieges: 
and that, too, in a place which has since heard such different 
cries, and where the same words would now excite nearly 
as much surprise, though less alarm, than an earthquake. 

“ God bless him ! ” repeated Joram, opening the door of 
an inner room, and pointing the way to his customer, “ and 
all that are favored with his countenance? Walk in, old 
Bob ; you shall soon grapple with half an ox.” 


Zbc IRefc 1Rov>er 


i 4 i 

Wilder, who had approached the outer door of the tavern 
as the mob receded, witnessed the retreat of the two worthies 
into the recesses of the house, and immediately entered the 
bar-room himself. While deliberating on the manner in 
which he should arrive at a communication with his new 
confederate, without attracting too much attention to so odd 
an association, the landlord returned in person to relieve 
him. After casting a hasty glance around the apartment, 
his look settled on our adventurer, whom he approached in 
a manner half doubting, half decided. 

“ What success, sir, in looking for a ship ?” he demanded, 
now recognizing, for the first time, the stranger with whom 
he had before held converse that morning. “ More hands 
than places to employ them ? ’ ’ 

“lam not sure it will so prove. In my walk on the hill 
I met an old seaman, who — ” 

“Hum ! ” interrupted the publican, with an intelligible, 
though stolen, sign to follow. “You will find it more con- 
venient, sir, to take your breakfast in another room.” Wil- 
der followed his conductor, who left the public apartment 
by a different door from that by which he had led his other 
guest into the interior of the house, wondering at the air of 
mystery that the innkeeper saw fit to assume on the occasion. 
After leading him by a circuitous passage, the latter showed 
Wilder, in profound silence, up a private stairway into the 
very attic of the building. Here he rapped lightly at a door, 
and was bid to enter by a voice that caused our adventurer 
to start by its deepness and severity. On finding himself, 
however, in a low and confined room, he saw no other occu- 
pant than the seaman who had just been greeted by the 
publican as an old acquaintance, and by a name to which he 
might, by his attire, well lay claim to be entitled — that of 
Tarry Bob. While Wilder was staring about him, a good 
deal surprised at the situation in which he was placed, the 
landlord retired, and he found himself alone with his con- 
federate. The latter was already engaged in discussing the 
fragment of the ox just mentioned, and in quaffing of some 
liquid that seemed equally adapted to his taste, although 
sufficient time had not certainly been allowed to prepare the 


142 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


beverage he had seen fit to order. Without allowing his 
visitor leisure for much further reflection, the old mariner 
made a motion to him to take the only vacant chair in the 
room, while he continued his employment on the sirloin 
with as much assiduity as if no interruption had taken place. 

“ Honest Joe Joram always makes a friend of his 
butcher,” he said, after ending a draught that threatened to 
drain the mug to the bottom. ‘‘There is such a flavor 
about his beef, that one might mistake it for the fin of a 
halibut. You have been in foreign parts, shipmate, or I 
may call you ‘messmate,’ since we are both anchored nigh 
the same kid — but you have doubtless been in foreign 
countries ? ” 

“ Often ; I should else be but a miserable seaman.” 

“ Then, tell me frankly, have you ever been in the king- 
dom that can furnish such rations — fish, flesh, fowl, and 
fruits — as this very noble land of America, in which we 
are now both moored ? and in which I suppose we both of 
us were born ? ’ ’ 

“ It would be carrying the love of home a little too far, 
to believe in such universal superiority,” returned Wilder, 
willing to divert the conversation from his real object, until 
he had time to arrange his ideas, and assure himself he had 
no other auditor but his visible companion. “ It is gener- 
ally admitted that England excels us in all these articles. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ By whom ? by your know-nothings and bold talkers. 
But I, a man who has seen the four quarters of the earth, 
and no small part of the water besides, give the lie to such 
empty boasters. We are colonies, friend, we are colonies ; 
and it is as bold in a colony to tell the mother that it has 
the advantage in this or that particular, as it would be in a 
foremast Jack to tell his officer he was wrong, though he 
knew it to be true. I am but a poor man, Mr. — By 
what name may I call your honor ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Me ! my name ? — Harris. ’ ’ 

“I am but a poor man, Mr. Harris; but I have had 
charge of a watch in my time, old and rusty as I seem, nor 
have I spent so many long nights on deck without keeping 
thoughts at work, though I may not have overhauled as 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


143 


much philosophy, in so doing, as a paid parish priest, or a 
fee’d lawyer. Let me tell you, it is a disheartening thing 
to be nothing but a dweller in a colony. It keeps down 
the pride and spirit of a man, and lends a hand in making 
him what his masters would be glad to have him. I shall 
say nothing of fruits, and meats, and other eatables, that 
come from the land of which both you and I have heard 
and know too much, unless it be to point to yonder sun, 
and then to ask the question, whether you think King 
George has the power to make it shine on the bit of an 
island where he lives, as it shines here on his broad prov- 
inces of America?” 

Certainly not ; and yet you know that every one must 
allow that the productions of England are so very much 
superior — ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Ay, ay ; a colony always sails under the lee of its 
mother. Talk does it all, friend Harris. Talk, talk, talk ; 
a man can talk himself into a fever, or set a ship’s company 
by the ears. He can talk a cherry into a peach, or a 
flounder into a whale. Now here is the whole of this long 
coast of America, and all her rivers, and lakes, and brooks, 
swarming with such treasures as any man might fatten on ; 
and yet his majesty’s servants, who come among us, talk of 
their turbots and their sole, and their carp, as if the Lord 
had only made such fish, and the devil had let the others 
slip through his fingers, without asking leave.” 

Wilder turned and fastened a look of surprise on the old 
man, who continued to eat, however, as if he had uttered 
nothing but what might be considered as a matter-of-course 
opinion. 

“You are more attached to your birthplace than loyal, 
friend,” said the young mariner, a little austerely. 

“ I am not fish-loyal, at least. What the Lord made 
one may speak of, I hope, without offence. As to the 
government, that is a rope twisted by the hands of man, 
and — ’ ’ 

“And what?” demanded Wilder, perceiving that the 
other hesitated. 

“ Hum ! Why, I fancy man will undo his own work, 


144 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


when he can find nothing better to busy himself in. No 
harm in saying that either, I hope ? ’ ’ 

“So much, that I must call your attention to the busi- 
ness that has brought us together. You have not so soon 
forgotten the earnest-money you received ? ” 

The old sailor shoved the dish from before him ; and, 
folding his arms, he looked his companion full in the eye, 
as he calmly answered, — 

“ When I am fairly enlisted in a service, I am a man to 
be counted on. I hope you sail under the same colors, 
friend Harris ? ’ ’ 

“It would be dishonest to do otherwise. There is one 
thing you will excuse — before I proceed to detail my plans 
and wishes, I must take occasion to examine this closet in 
order to be sure that we are actually alone. ’ * 

“You will find little there except the toggery of some 
of honest Joe’s female gender. As the door is not fastened 
with any extraordinary care, you have only to look for 
yourself, since seeing is believing.” 

Wilder did not seem disposed to wait for this permission ; 
he opened the door while the other was speaking, and find- 
ing that the closet actually contained little else than the ar- 
ticles named by his companion, he turned away, like a man 
who was disappointed. 

“ Were you alone when I entered? ” he demanded, after 
a thoughtful pause. 

“ Honest Joram, and yourself.” 

“ No one else ? ” 

“None that I saw,” returned the other, his manner be- 
traying slight uneasiness; “if you think otherwise, let us 
overhaul the room. Should my hand fall on a listener, the 
salute will not be light.” 

“ Hold — answer me a single question ; who bade me 
enter? ” 

Tarry Bob, who had risen with a good deal of alacrity, 
now reflected in his turn, for an instant, and closed his mus- 
ing by indulging in a low laugh. 

“ Ah ! I see that you have got your ideas a little jammed. 
A man cannot talk the same, with a small portion of ox in 


Ube 1 Reb iRover 


*45 


his mouth, as if his tongue had as much sea-room as a ship 
four-and- twenty hours out.” 

‘‘Then, it was you ? ” 

“ I ’ll swear to that much,” returned Bob, resuming his 
seat like one who had settled the whole affair to his entire 
satisfaction ; ‘ ‘ and now, friend Harris, if you are ready to 
lay bare your mind, I ’m just as ready to look at it.” 

Wilder did not appear to be quite as well content with 
the explanation as his companion ; but he drew a chair an (1 
prepared to open his subject. 

“ I am not to tell you, friend, after what you have heard 
and seen, that I have no very strong desire that the lady 
with whom we have both spoken this morning, and her 
companion, should sail in the Royal Caroline. I suppose 
it is enough for our purposes that you should know the 
fact; the reason why I prefer they should remain where 
they are, can be of no moment as to the duty you are to 
undertake. ’ ’ 

‘‘You need not tell an old seaman how to gather in the 
slack of a running idea, ’ ’ cried Bob, chuckling and winking 
at his companion, in a way that displeased the latter by its 
familiarity ; ‘ ‘ I have not lived fifty years on blue water, to 
mistake it for the skies.” 

‘‘You then fancy, sir, that my motive is no secret to 
you ? ” 

“ It needs no spy-glass to see, that while the old people 
say, ‘ Go,’ the young people would like to stay where they 
are.” 

“ You do both of the young people much injustice, then ; 
until yesterday, I never laid eyes on the person you mean.” 

“Ah ! I see how it is ; the owners of the Caroline have 
not been so civil as they ought, and you are paying them a 
small debt of thanks ! ” 

“ That is possibly a means of retaliation that might suit 
your taste, ’ ’ said Wilder gravely ; “but which is not much in 
accordance with mine. The whole of the parties are utter 
strangers to me.” 

“ Hum ! I suppose you belong to the vessel in the outer 
harbor ; and, though you don’t hate your enemies, you love 

IO 


146 


X Tbe 1 Refc IRovetr 


your friends. We must contrive the means to coax the 
ladies to take passage in the slaver. ’ ’ 

“ God forbid ! ” 

“God forbid ! Now I think, friend Harris, you set up 
the backstays of your conscience a little too taut. Though 
I cannot, and do not, agree with you in all you have said 
concerning the Royal Caroline, I see no reason to doubt 
that we shall have but one mind about the other vessel. I 
call her a wholesome-looking and well-proportioned craft, 
and one that a king might sail in with comfort.” 

‘ ‘ I deny it not ; still I like her not. ’ ’ 

“Well, I am glad of that ; and, since the matter is fairly 
between us, Master Harris, I have a word or two to say 
concerning that very ship. I am an old sea-dog, and one 
not easily blinded in the trade. Do you not find some- 
thing, that is not in character for an honest trader, in the 
manner in which they have laid that vessel at her anchors, 
without the fort, and the sleepy look she bears, at the same 
time that any one may see she is not built to catch oysters, 
or to carry cattle to the islands ? ’ ’ 

* ‘ As you have said, I think her a wholesome and a tight- 
built ship. Of what evil practices, however, do you suspect 
her ? — perhaps she robs the revenue ? ” 

‘ ‘ Hum ! I am not sure it would be pleasant to smuggle 
in such a vessel, though your contraband is a merry trade, 
after all. She has a pretty battery, as well as one can see 
from this distance.” 

“ I dare say her owners are not tired of her yet, and 
would gladly keep her from falling into the hands of the 
French.” 

“Well, well, I may be wrong ; but, unless sight is going 
with my years, all is not as it would be on board that 
slaver provided her papers were true, and she had the lawful 
name to her letters of marque. What think you, honest Joe, 
in this matter ? ’ ’ 

Wilder turned impatiently and found that the landlord 
had entered the room, with a step so light as to have es- 
caped his attention, which had been drawn to his companion 
with a force that the reader will readily comprehend. The 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


147 


air of surprise with which Joram regarded the speaker was 
certainly not affected ; for the question was repeated, and 
in still more definite terms, before he saw fit to reply. 

“I ask j'ou, honest Joe, if you think the slaver in the 
outer harbor of this port a true man ? ” 

“ You come across one, Bob, in your bold way, with such 
startling questions, ’ ’ returned the publican, casting his eyes 
obliquely around him, as if to make sure of the character of 
his audience, “such stirring opinions, that really I am often 
nonplussed to know how to get the ideas together to make 
a saving answer.” 

“ It is droll enough, truly, to see the landlord of the ‘ Foul 
Anchor’ dumfounded,” returned the old man, with perfect 
composure in mien and eye. “ I ask you, in plain English, 
if you do not suspect something wrong about that slaver ? ” 

‘ ‘ Wrong ! Good heavens, Mister Robert, recollect what 
you are saying. I would not, for the custom of his majesty’s 
lord high admiral, have any discouraging words uttered in 
my house against the reputation of any virtuous and fair- 
dealing slavers ! The Eord protect me from blacking the 
character of any honest subject of the king ! ” 

“ Do you see nothing wrong, worthy and tender Joram, 
about the ship in the outer harbor ? ’ ’ repeated Mister 
Robert, without moving eye, limb, or muscle. 

“Well, since you press me so hard for an opinion, and 
seeing that you are a customer who pays freely for what he 
orders, I will say that, if there is anything unreasonable, or 
even illegal, in the deportment of the gentlemen—” 

“You sail so nigh the wind, friend Joram,” coolly in- 
terrupted the old man, “as to keep everything shaking, 
your teeth included. Just bethink you of a plain answer ; 
have you seen anything wrong about the slaver? ” 

“Nothing, on my conscience, then,” said the publican, 
puffing not unlike a cetaceous fish that had come to the 
surface to breathe ; “ as I am an unworthy sinner, sitting 
under the preaching of good and faithful Dr. Dogma, noth- 
ing — nothing.” 

“ No ! Then are you a duller man than I had rated you 
at ! Do you suspect nothing ? ’ ’ 


Ghe IRefc IRover 


148 

“ Heaven protect me from suspicions ! The devil besets 
all our minds with doubts ; but weak and evil inclined is he 
who submits to them. The officers and crew of that ship 
are free drinkers, and as generous as princes ; moreover, as 
they never forget to clear the score before they leave the 
house, I call them — honest ! ’ ’ 

“And I call them— pirates ! ” 

“Pirates!” echoed Joram, fastening his eye, with 
marked distrust, on the countenance of the attentive Wilder. 
“ ‘Pirate’ is a harsh word, Mister Robert, and should not 
be thrown in any gentleman’s face, without testimony 
enough to clear one in an action of defamation, should such 
a thing get fairly before twelve sworn and conscientious 
men. But I suppose you know what you say, and before 
whom you say it.” 

“I do ; and now, as it seems that your opinion in this 
matter amounts to just nothing at all, you will please — ” 

“To do anything you order,” cried Joram, delighted to 
change the subject. 

“To go and ask the customers below if they are dry,” 
continued the other, beckoning for the publican to retire by 
the way he entered, with the air of one who felt certain of 
being obeyed. As soon as the door was closed on the re- 
tiring landlord, he turned to his remaining companion, and 
continued, “You seem as much struck aback as unbelieving 
Joe himself, at what you have just heard ? ’ ’ 

“ It is a harsh suspicion, and should be well supported, 
old man, before you venture to repeat it. What pirate has 
lately been heard of on this coast ? ” 

‘ ‘ There is the well-known Red Rover, ’ ’ returned the other, 
dropping his voice, and casting a furtive look around him, 
as if even he thought extraordinary caution was necessary in 
uttering the formidable name. 

“But he is said to keep chiefly in the Caribbean Sea.” 

“He is a man to be anywhere, and everywhere. The 
king would pay him well who put the rogue into the hands 
of the law.” 

“ A thing easier planned than executed,” Wilder thought- 
fully answered. 


TTbe iRefc IRover 


149 


That is as it may be. I am an old fellow, and fitter to 
point out the way than to go ahead ; but you are like a 
newly fitted ship, with all your rigging tight, and your spars 
without a warp in them. What say you to make your for- 
tune by selling the knaves to the king ? It is only giving 
the devil his own a few months sooner or later.” 

Wilder started, and turned away from his companion like 
one who was little pleased by the manner in which he ex- 
pressed himself. Perceiving the necessity of a reply, however, 
he demanded, — 

“ And what reason have you for believing your suspicions 
true ? or what means have you for effecting your object, if 
true, in the absence of the royal cruisers ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I cannot swear that I am right ; but, if sailing on the 
wrong tack, we can only go about when we find out the 
mistake. As to means, I confess they are easier named than 
mustered.” 

1 * Go, go : this is idle talk ; a mere whim of your old 
brain,” said Wilder coldly ; “ and the less said the .soonest 
mended. All this time we are forgetting our proper business. 
I am half inclined to think, Mister Robert, you are holding 
out false lights, in order to get rid of the duty for which you 
are already half paid. ’ ’ 

There was a look of satisfaction in the countenance of the 
old tar, while Wilder was speaking, that might have struck 
his companion, had not the young man risen, to pace the 
narrow room, with a thoughtful and hurried step. 

“ Well, well,” the former rejoined, endeavoring to disguise 
his contentment, in his customary selfish but shrewd expres- 
sion, ‘ ‘ I am an old dreamer, and often have I thought my- 
self swimming in the sea, when I have been safe moored on 
dry land ! I believe there must soon be a reckoning with 
the devil, in order that each may take his share of my poor 
carcass, and I be left the captain of my own ship. Now for 
your honor’s orders.” 

Wilder returned to his seat, and disposed himself to give 
the necessary instructions to his confederate, in order that 
he might counteract all he had already said in favor of the 
outward-bound vessel. 



CHAPTER XI. 


“ The man is, notwithstanding, sufficient : three thousand ducats ! 
I think I may take his bond.” 


Merchant of Venice. 


A S the day advanced, the appearance of a fresh sea-breeze 
/ \ setting in gradually grew stronger ; and with the 

JL increase of the wind, were to be seen all the symp- 

toms of an intention to leave the harbor on the part 
of the Bristol trader. The sailing of a large ship was an 
event of much more importance in an American port sixty 
years ago than at the present hour, when a score is fre- 
quently seen to arrive and depart from one haven in a single 
day. Although claiming to be inhabitants of one of the 
principal towns of the colony, the good people of Newport 
did not witness the movements on board the Caroline with 
that species of indolent regard which is the fruit of satiety 
in sights as well as in graver things, and with which in the 
course of time, the evolutions of even a fleet come to be con- 
templated. On the contrary, the wharfs were crowded with 
boys, and indeed with idlers of every growth. Even many 
of the more considerate and industrious of the citizens were 
soon loosening the close grasp they usually kept on the 
precious minutes, and allowing them to escape uncounted, 
though not entirely unheeded, as they yielded to the ascend- 
ency of curiosity over interest, and strayed from their shops, 
and their work-yards, to gaze upon the noble spectacle of a 
moving ship. 

The tardy manner in which the crew of the Caroline 
made their preparations, however, exhausted the patience 
of more than one time-saving citizen. Quite as many of 

150 


Ube IRefc IRover 


151 

the better sort of the spectators had left the wharfs as still 
remained, and yet the vessel had spread to the breeze but 
the solitary sheet of canvas which has been already named. 
Instead of answering the wishes of hundreds of weary eyes, 
the noble ship was seen sheering about her anchor, inclining 
from the passing wind, as her bows were alternately turned 
to the right and to the left, like a restless courser, restrained 
by the grasp of the groom, chafing his bit, and with difficulty 
keeping those limbs upon the earth with which he is shortly 
to bound around the ring. After more than an hour of 
unaccountable delay, a rumor was spread among the crowd 
that an accident had occurred, by which some important 
individual belonging to the complement of the vessel was 
severely injured. But this rumor passed away also, and 
was nearly forgotten, when a sheet of flame issued from a 
bow-port of the Caroline, driving before it a cloud of curling 
and mounting smoke, and was succeeded by the roar of ar- 
tillery. A bustle, like that which usually precedes the im- 
mediate announcement of a long-expected event, took place 
among the wearj^ expectants on the land, and every one 
now seemed to feel quite certain, that whatever might have 
occurred, it was settled that the ship should proceed. 

Of all this delay, the several movements on board, the 
subsequent signal for sailing, and of the impatience in the 
crowd, Wilder had been a close observer. Posted with his 
back against the upright fluke of a condemned anchor, on a 
wharf a little apart from that occupied by most of the spec- 
tators, he had remained an hour in the same position, 
scarcely bending his look to his right hand or to his left. 
When the gun was fired he started, not with the nervous 
impulse which had made a hundred others do precisely the 
same thing, but to turn a glance along the streets that came 
within the range of his eye. From this hasty and uneasy 
examination, he soon returned into his former reclining 
posture, though the wandering of his glances, and the whole 
expression of his countenance, would have told an observer 
that some event to which the young mariner looked forward 
with excessive interest was on the eve of its consummation. 
As minute after minute, however, rolled by, his composure 


-52 


Uhc IReb IRoper 


was gradually restored, and a smile of satisfaction lighted 
his features, while his lips moved like those of a man who 
expressed his pleasure in a soliloquy. In the midst of these 
agreeable meditations, the sound of many voices met his 
ears ; and, turning, he saw a large party within a few yards 
of where he stood. He was not slow to detect among them 
the forms of Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude, attired in such a 
manner as to leave no doubt that they were on the eve of 
embarking. 

A cloud, driving before the sun, does not produce a 
greater change in the aspect of the earth, than was wrought 
in the expression of Wilder’s countenance by this unex- 
pected sight. He was just implicitly relying on the success 
of an artifice, which, though sufficiently shallow, he flattered 
himself was deep enough to act on the timidity and credulity 
of woman ; and now he was suddenly awoke from his self- 
gratulation, to prove the utter disappointment of his hopes. 
Muttering a suppressed but deep execration against the 
perfidy of his confederate, he shrunk as much as possible 
behind the fluke of the anchor, fastening his eyes sullenly 
on the ship. 

The party which accompanied the travellers to the water- 
side was, like all other parties made to take leave of valued 
friends, taciturn and restless. Those who spoke, did so 
with a rapid and impatient utterance, as if they wished to 
hurry the very separation they regretted ; and the features 
of those who said nothing looked full of meaning. Wilder 
heard several affectionate and warm-hearted wishes given, and 
promises extorted, from youthful voices, all of which were 
answered in the mournful tones of Gertrude, and yet he 
obstinately refused to bend even a stolen look in the direc- 
tion of the speakers. 

At length, a footstep within a few feet of him induced 
a hasty glance aside. His eye met that of Mrs. Wyllys. 
The lady started, as well as our young mariner, at the 
sudden recognition ; but, recovering her self-possession, she 
observed, with admirable coolness, — 

“ You perceive, sir, that we are not to be deterred from 
an enterprise once undertaken, by any ordinary dangers.” 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


153 


“ I hope you may not have reason, madam, to repent 
your courage.” 

A short, but painfully thoughtful pause succeeded, on the ' 
part of Mrs. Wyllys. Casting a look behind her, in order 
to ascertain that she was not overheard, she drew a step 
nigher to the youth, and said, in a voice even lower than 
before, — 

“It is not yet too late. Give me but the shadow of a 
reason for what you have said, and I will wait for another 
ship. My feelings are foolishly inclined to believe you, 
young man, though my judgment tells me there is but 
too much probability that you trifle with our womanish 
fears.” 

“Trifle! On such a matter I would trifle with none of 
your sex ; and least of all with you ! ” 

‘ ‘ This is extraordinary ! For a stranger it is inexpliC' 
able ! Have you a fact, or a reason, which I can plead to 
the friends of my 3'oung charge ? ” 

“You know them already.” 

“Then, sir, I am compelled, against my will, to believe 
your motive is one that you have some powerful considera- 
tions for wishing to conceal,” coldly returned the disap- 
pointed and even mortified governess. “ For your own 
sake, I hope it is not unworthy. I thank you for all that 
is well intended : if you have spoken aught which is other- 
wise, I forgive it.” 

They parted, with the restraint of people who feel that 
distrust exists between them. Wilder again shrank behind 
his cover, maintaining a proud position, and a countenance 
that was grave to austerity. His situation, however, com- 
pelled him to become an auditor of most of what was now 
said. 

The principal speaker, as was meet 011 such an occasion, 
was Mrs. De Tacey, whose voice was often raised in sage 
admonitions and professional opinions, blended in a manner 
that all would admire, though none of her sex but they who 
had enjoyed the singular good fortune of sharing in the 
intimate confidence of a flag-officer, might ever hope to 
imitate. 


i54 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


‘ ‘ And now, my dearest niece, ’ ’ concluded the relict of the 
rear-admiral, after exhausting her breath and her stores of 
wisdom, in numberless exhortations to be careful of her 
health, to write often, to repeat the actual words of her 
private message to her brother the general, to keep below 
in gales of wind, to be particular in the account of any 
extraordinary sights she might have the good fortune to 
behold in the passage, and, in short, in all other matters 
likely to grow out of such a leave-taking ; “and now, my 
dearest niece, I commit you to the mighty deep, and One 
far mightier — to Him who made it. Banish from your 
thoughts all recollections of anything you may have heard 
concerning the imperfections of the Royal Caroline; for 
the opinion of the aged seaman who sailed with the 
lamented admiral assures me they are all founded in mis- 
take.” (“The treacherous villain!” muttered Wilder.) 
“Who spoke?” said Mrs. De Tacey ; but, receiving no 
reply, she continued : “ His opinion is also exactly in 

accordance with my own, on more mature reflection. To 
be sure, it is culpable neglect to depend on bobstays and 
gammonings for the security of the bowsprit ; but even this 
is an oversight which, as my old friend has just told me, 
may be remedied by ‘preventers and lashings.’ I have 
written a note to the master — Gertrude, my dear, be care- 
ful ever to call the master of the ship Mister Nichols ; for 
none but those who bear his majesty’s commission are 
entitled to be termed captains ; it is an honorable station, 
and should always be treated with reverence, it being in 
fact, next in rank to a flag-officer — I have written a note 
to the master on the subject, and he will see the neglect 
repaired ; and so, my love, God bless you ; take the best 
possible care of yourself ; write me by every opportunity; 
remember my kindest love to your father, and be very 
minute in your description of the whales.” 

The eyes of the worthy and kind-hearted widow were 
filled with tears, and there was a touch of nature in the 
tremor of her voice, that produced a sympathetic feeling in 
all who heard her. The final parting took place under the 
impressions of these kind emotions, and, before another 


TTbe IReb IRover 


*55 


minute, the oars of the boat which bore the travellers to 
the ship were stirring the water. 

Wilder listened to the well-known sounds with a feverish 
interest, that he might have found it difficult to explain to 
himself. A light touch on the elbow first drew his atten- 
tion from the disagreeable subject. Surprised at the cir- 
cumstance, he faced the intruder, who appeared to be a lad 
of apparently some fifteen years. A second look was nec- 
essary to tell the abstracted young mariner that he again 
saw the attendant of the Rover ; he who has already been 
introduced in our pages under the name of Roderick. 

“Your pleasure?” he demanded, when his amazement 
at being thus interrupted had a little subsided. 

“Iam directed to put these orders into your own hands/' 
was the answ T er. 

“ Orders ! ” repeated the young man with a curling lip. 
‘ ‘ The authority should be respected which issues its man- 
dates through such a messenger.” 

‘ ‘ The authority is one that it has ever proved dangerous 
to disobey,” gravely returned the boy. 

“ Indeed ! Then will I look into the contents without 
delay, lest I fall into some fatal negligence. Are you bid 
to wait an answer? ” 

On raising his eyes from the note, after breaking its seal, 
the young man found that the messenger had already van- 
ished. Perceiving how useless it would be to pursue so 
light a form, amid the mazes of lumber that loaded the 
wharf, and most of the adjacent shore, he opened the letter 
and read as follows : — 

‘ * An accident has disabled the master of the outward- 
bound ship called the Royal Caroline ! Her consignee is 
reluctant to intrust her to the officer next in rank ; but sail 
she must. I find she has credit for speed. If you have 
any credentials of character and competency , profit by the 
occasion, and earn the station you are finally destined to fill. 
You have been named to some who are interested, and you 
have been sought diligently. If this reach you in season, 
be on the alert, and be decided. Show no surprise at any 


x 5 6 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


co-operation you may unexpectedly meet. My agents are 
more numerous than you probably believe. The reason is 
obvious ; gold is yellow, though I am Red.” 

The signature, the matter, and the style of this letter, 
left Wilder in no doubt as to its author. Casting a glance 
around him, he sprang into a skiff ; and, before the boat of 
the travellers had reached the ship, that of Wilder had 
skimmed the water over half the distance between her and 
the land. As he plied his sculls with vigorous and skilful 
arms, he soon stood upon her decks. Forcing his way 
among the crowd of attendants from the shore, that are apt 
to cumber a departing ship, he reached the part of the ves- 
sel where a circle of busy faces told him he should find 
those most concerned in her fate. Until now, he had hardly 
breathed clearly, much less reflected on the character of his 
sudden enterprise. It was too late, however, to retreat, had 
he been so disposed, or to abandon his purpose without in- 
curring the hazard of exciting dangerous suspicions. A single 
instant served to recall his thoughts, ere he demanded, — 

“ Do I see the owner of the Caroline?” 

“The ship is consigned to our house,” returned a sedate, 
deliberate, and shrewd-looking individual, in the attire of a 
wealthy thrifty trader. 

“ I have heard that you have need of an experienced 
officer.” 

“ Experienced officers are comfortable things to an owner, 
in a vessel of value,” returned the merchant. “ I hope the 
Caroline is not without her portion.” 

“ But I had heard, one to supply her commander’s place, 
for a time, was greatly needed. ’ ’ 

“ If her commander were incapable of doing his duty, 
such a thing might certainly come to pass. Are you seek- 
ing a berth ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I have come to apply for the vacancy. ’ ’ 

“ It would have been wiser, had you first ascertained 
there existed a vacancy to fill. But you have not come to 
ask authority in such a ship as this, without sufficient testi- 
mony of your ability and fitness? ” 


TTbe IReb IRover 


157 


*‘1 hope these documents may prove satisfactory,” said 
Wilder, placing in his hands a couple of unsealed letters. 

During the time the other was reading the certificates, 
for such they proved to be, his shrewd eye was looking over 
his spectacles at the subject of their contents, and returning 
to the paper, in alternate glances, in such a way as to 
render it very evident that he was endeavoring to assure 
himself of the fidelity of the words he read, by actual 
observation. 

‘ ‘ Hum ! This is certainly very excellent testimony in 
your favor, young gentleman ; and — coming, as it does, 
from two so respectable and affluent houses as Spriggs, 
Bogg, and Tweed, and Hammer and Hacket — entitled to 
great credit. A richer and broader-bottomed firm than the 
former is not to be found in his majesty’s colonies ; and I 
have great respect for the latter, though envious people do 
say that they overtrade a little.” 

“ Since, then, you esteem them so highly, I shall not be 
considered hasty in presuming on their friendship ? ’ ’ 

“Not at all, not at all, Mr. — a — a — ” glancing his eye 
again into one of the letters ; “ ay, Mr. Wilder ; there is 
never any presumption in a fair offer, in a matter of busi- 
ness. Without offers to sell and offers to buy, our prop- 
erty would never change hands, sir, ha ! ha ! ha ! never 
change to a profit, you know, young gentleman.” 

“ I am aware of the truth of what you say, and therefore 
I beg leave to repeat my offer. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ All perfectly fair and perfectly reasonable ; but you 
cannot expect us, Mr. Wilder, to make a vacancy expressly 
for you to fill, though it must be admitted that your papers 
are excellent— as good as the note of Spriggs, Boggs, and 
Tweed themselves— not to make a vacancy expressly — ” 

“ I had supposed the master of the ship so seriously in- 
jured — ” 

“Injured, but not seriously,” interrupted the wary con- 
signee, glancing his eye around at sundry shippers, and one 
or two spectators, who were within ear-shot ; “ injured cer- 
tainly, but not so much as to quit the vessel. No, no, gen- 
tlemen ; the good ship, Royal Caroline, proceeds on her 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


i5 8 

voyage, as usual, under the care of that old and well-tried 
mariner, Nicholas Nichols.” 

“ Then, sir, I am sorry to have intruded on your time at 
so busy a moment,” said Wilder, bowing with a disappointed 
air, and falling back a step, as if about to withdraw. 

‘ ‘ Not so hasty — not so hasty ; bargains are not to be 
concluded, young man, as you let a sail fall from the yard. 
It is possible that your services may be of use, though not, 
perhaps, in the responsible situation of master. At what 
rate do you value the title of ‘ captain * ? ” 

“I care little for the name, provided the trust and the 
authority are mine.” 

‘ ‘ A very sensible youth ! ’ ’ muttered the discreet merchant ; 
“ and one who knows how to distinguish between the shadow 
and the substance ! A gentleman of your good sense and 
character must know, however, that the reward is always 
proportioned to the nominal dignity. If I were acting for 
myself, in this business, the case would be materially 
changed, but, as an agent, it is a duty to consult the inter- 
est of my principal. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ The reward is of no account,” said Wilder, with an eager- 
ness that might have overreached itself, had not the individual 
with whom he was bargaining fastened his thoughts on the 
means of cheapening the other’s services, with a steadiness 
from which they rarely swerved, when bent on so commend- 
able an object as saving. “ I seek for service.” 

“Then service you shall have ; nor will you find us nig- 
gardly in the operation. You cannot expect an advance 
for a run of no more than a month ; nor any perquisites 
in the way of storage, since the ship is now full to her 
hatches ; nor, indeed, any great price in the shape of wages, 
since we take you chiefly to accommodate so worthy a 
youth, and to honor the recommendations of so respectable 
a house as Spriggs, Boggs, and Tweed ; but you will find 
us liberal, excessively liberal. Stay — how know we that 
you are the person named in the invoi — I should say, 
recommendation ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Does not the fact of possessing the letters establish my 
character? ” 


Ube IRefc IRover 


159 


“ It might in peaceable times, when the realm was not 
scourged by war. A description of the person should have 
accompanied the documents, like a letter of advice with the 
bill. As we take you at some risk in this matter, you are 
not to be surprised that the price will be affected by the 
circumstance. We are liberal ; I believe no house in the 
colonies pays more liberally ; but then we have a character 
for prudence, too. ’ ’ 

“I have already said, sir, that the price shall not inter- 
rupt our bargain.” 

“ Good : there is pleasure in transacting business on such 
liberal and honorable views ; and yet I wish a notarial seal, 
or a description of the person, had accompanied the letters. 
This is the signature of Robert Tweed ; I know it well, 
and would be glad to see it at the bottom of a promissory 
note for ten thousand pounds : that is, with a responsible 
indorser ; but the uncertainty is much against your pecu- 
niary interest, young man, since we become, as it were, un- 
derwriters that you are the individual named.” 

“ In order that your mind may be at ease on this subject, 
Mr. Bale, ’ ’ said a voice from among the little circle that was 
listening with characteristic interest, to the progress of the 
bargain, “ I can testify, or, should it be necessary, qualify to 
the person of the gentleman.” 

Wilder turned in some haste, and in no little astonish- 
ment, to discover the acquaintance whom chance had 
thrown in so extraordinary, and possibly in so disagreeable 
a manner, across his path ; and that, too, in a portion of 
the country where he wished to believe himself an entire 
stranger. To his utter amazement, he found that the new 
speaker was no other than the landlord of the “ Foul An- 
chor.” Honest Joe stood with a perfectly composed look, 
and with a face that might readily have been trusted to 
confront a far more imposing tribunal, awaiting the result 
of his testimony on the wavering mind of the consignee. 

“Ah! you have lodged the gentleman for anight, and 
you can testify that he is a punctual paymaster, and a civil 
inmate. But I want documents fit to be filed with the cor- 
respondence of the owners at ho?ne. }} 


i6o 


Zbc IRefc 1Rov>er 


“I know not what sort of testimony you think fit for 
such good company,” returned the unmoved publican, hold- 
ing up his hand with an air of admirable innocence ; ‘ ‘ but 
if the sworn declaration of a housekeeper is of the sort you 
need, you are a magistrate, and may begin to say over the 
words at once. ’ * 

“Not I, not I, man. Though a magistrate, the oath is 
informal, and would not be binding in law. But what do 
you know of the person in question ? ’ ’ 

“ That he is as good a seaman, for his years, as any in 
the colonies. There may be some of more practice and 
greater experience — I dare say such are to be found — but as 
to activity, watchfulness, and prudence, it would be hard 
to find his equal — especially for prudence. ’ ’ 

“ You, then, are quite certain that this person is the indi- 
vidual named in these papers? ” 

Joram received the certificates with the same admirable 
coolness he had maintained from the commencement, and 
prepared to read them with the most scrupulous care. In 
order to effect this necessary operation, he had to put on 
spectacles (for the landlord of the “ Foul Anchor ” was in the 
wane of life), and Wilder fancied that he stood, during the 
process, a notable example of how respectable depravity may 
become, in appearance, when supported by a reverend air. 

“This is all very true, Mr. Bale,” continued the publican, 
removing his glasses, and returning the papers. “They 
have forgotten to say anything of the manner in which he 
saved the Lively Nancy, off Hatteras, and how he ran the 
Peggy and Dolly over the Savannah bar, without a pilot, 
blowing great guns from the northward and eastward at the 
time ; but I, who followed the water, as you know, in my 
younger days, have often heard both circumstances men- 
tioned among seafaring men, and I am a judge of the diffi- 
culty. I have an interest in this ship, neighbor Bale (for 
though a rich man, and I a poor one, w^e are nevertheless 
neighbors) — I say I have an interest in this ship; since 
she is a vessel that seldom quits Newport without leaving 
something to jingle in my pocket, or I should not be here 
to-day to see her lift her anchor.” 


Ube lRe& IRover 


161 


As the publican concluded, he gave audible evidence that 
his visit had not gone unrewarded, by raising a music that 
was no less agreeable to the. ears of the thrifty merchant 
than to his own. The two worthies laughed in an under- 
standing way, and like men who had found a particular 
profit in their intercourse with the Royal Caroline. The 
latter then beckoned Wilder apart ; and, after a little fur- 
ther preliminary discourse, the terms of the young mariner’s 
engagement were finally settled. The true master of the 
ship was to remain on board, both as a security for the in- 
surance, and in order to preserve her reputation ; but it 
was frankly admitted that his hurt, which was no less than 
a broken leg, and which the surgeons were then setting, 
would probably keep him below for a month to come. 
During the time he was kept from his duty, his functions 
were to be discharged by our adventurer. These arrange- 
ments occupied another hour, and then the consignee left 
the vessel, perfectly satisfied with the prudent and frugal 
manner in which he had discharged his duty towards his 
principal. Before stepping into the boat, however, with a 
view to be equally careful of his own interests, he took an 
opportunity to request the publican to make a proper and 
legal affidavit of all that he knew of his own knowledge 
concerning the officer just engaged. Honest Joram was 
liberal of his promises : but, as he saw no motive, now that 
all was so happily effected, for incurring useless risks, he 
contrived to evade their fulfilment ; finding, no doubt, his 
apology for this breach of faith, in the absolute poverty of 
his information, when the subject came to be duly consid- 
ered in his own mind. 

It is unnecessary to relate the bustle, the reparation of 
half forgotten, and consequently neglected business, the 
duns, good wishes, injunctions to execute commissions in 
some distant port, and all the confused, and seemingly inter- 
minable, duties that crowd themselves into the last ten min- 
utes that precede the sailing of a merchant-vessel, more 
especially if she is fortunate, or rather unfortunate, enough 
to have passengers. A certain class of men quit a vessel, 
in such a situation, with the reluctance that they would part 


1 62 


Ube IReb IRover 


with any other well-established means of profit, creeping 
down her sides as lazily as the leech, filled to repletion, rolls 
from his bloody repast. The common seaman, with an 
attention divided by the orders of the pilot and the adieus of 
acquaintances, runs in every direction but the right one ; 
and perhaps at the only time in his life, seems ignorant of 
the uses of the ropes he has so long been accustomed to 
handle. Notwithstanding all these vexatious delays and 
customary incumbrances, the Royal Caroline finally got rid 
of all her visitors but one ; and Wilder was enabled to in- 
dulge in a pleasure that a seaman alone can appreciate— 
that of clear decks and an orderly ship’s company 




CHAPTER XII. 


“ Good : speak to the mariners : fall 
aground.” 


to ’t yarely, or we run ourselves 
Tempest. 


A GOOD deal of the day had been wasted during the 
time occupied by the scenes just related. The 
breeze had come in steady, but far from fresh. So 
soon, however, as Wilder found himself left with- 
out the molestation of idlers from the shore, and the busy 
interposition of the consignee, he cast his eyes about him, 
with the intention of immediately submitting the ship to its 
power. Sending for the pilot, he communicated his deter- 
mination, and withdrew himself to a part of the deck whence 
he might take a proper survey of the materials of his new 
command, and where he might reflect on the unexpected and 
extraordinary situation in which he found himself. 

The Royal Caroline was not entirely without pretentions 
to her lofty name. She was a vessel of that happy size in 
which comfort and convenience are equally consulted. The 
letter of the Rover affirmed she had a reputation for speed ; 
and her young and intelligent commander saw, with great 
inward satisfaction, that she was not destitute of the means 
of enabling him to exhibit her properties. 

A healthy, active, and skilful crew, justly proportioned 
spars, little top-hamper, and an excellent trim, with a super- 
abundance of light sails, offered all the advantages his expe- 
rience could suggest. His eye lighted, as it glanced rapidly 
over these several particulars of his command, and his lips 
moved like those of a man who uttered inward gratulations, 
or who indulged in some vaunt, that propriety suggested 
should go no further than his own thoughts. 

163 


164 


Ube 1 Reb IRcwer 


By this time the crew, under the orders of the pilot, were 
assembled at the windlass, and had commenced heaving-in 
upon the cable. The labor was of a nature to exhibit their 
individual powers, as well as their collective force, to the 
greatest advantage. Their motion was simultaneous, quick, 
and full of muscle. The cry was clear and cheerful. As 
if to feel his influence, our adventurer lifted his own voice 
amid the song of the mariners, in one of those sudden and 
inspiriting calls with which a sea-officer is wont to encour- 
age his people. His utterance was deep, animated, and full 
of authority. The seamen started, like mettled coursers 
when they first hear the signal, each man casting a glance 
behind him, as if he would scan the qualities of his new 
superior. Wilder smiled, like one satisfied with his suc- 
cess ; and, turning to pace the quarter-deck, he found himself 
once more confronted by the calm, considerate, but certainly 
astonished eye of Mrs. Wyllys. 

‘ * After the opinions you were pleased to express of this 
vessel,” said the lady, in a manner of the coldest irony, “ I 
did not expect to find you filling a place of so much respon- 
sibility here.” 

“ You probably know, madam,” returned the young mar- 
iner, ‘ ‘ that a sad accident has happened to her master ? ’ ’ 

‘‘I do ; and I had heard that another officer had been 
found, temporarily to supply his place. Still, I should pre- 
sume that, on reflection, you will not think it remarkable I 
am amazed in finding who this person is ? ” 

“Perhaps you may have conceived, from our conversa- 
tions, an unfavorable opinion of my professional skill. I 
hope that on this head you will place your mind at ease ; 
for — ’ ’ 

“You are doubtless a master of the art ! It would seem, 
at least, that no trifling danger can deter you from seeking 
proper opportunities to display this knowledge. Are we to 
have the pleasure of your company during the whole pas- 
sage, or do you leave us at the mouth of the port ? ’ ’ 

“I am engaged to conduct the ship to the end of her 
voyage. ’ ’ 

“We may then hope that the danger you either saw or 


Ube 1 Reb 1 Rov>er 165 


imagined is lessened in your judgment, otherwise you would 
not be so ready to encounter it in our company. ’ * 

“You do me injustice, madam,” returned Wilder, with 
warmth, glancing his eye unconsciously towards the grave 
but attentive Gertrude ; “ there is no danger that I would 
not cheerfully encounter, to save you, or this young lady, 
from harm.” 

‘ ‘ Even this young lady must be sensible of so much chiv- 
alry ! ” Then, losing the constrained manner which she had 
hitherto maintained, in one more natural, and one far more 
in consonance with her usually mild and thoughtful mien, 
Mrs. Wyllys continued, “You have a powerful advocate, 
young man, in the unaccountable interest which I feel in 
your truth ; an interest that my reason would condemn. 
As the ship must need your services, I will no longer de- 
tain you. Opportunities cannot be wanting to enable us to 
judge both of your inclination and ability to serve us. Ger- 
trude, my love, females are usually considered as incum- 
brances in a vessel ; more particularly when there is any 
delicate duty to perform like this before us.” 

Gertrude started, blushed, and followed her governess to 
the opposite side of the quarter-deck, though a look from 
our adventurer seemed to say, that he considered her pres- 
ence anything but an incumbrance. As the ladies took a 
position apart from everybody, and one where they were 
least in the way of working the ship, at the same time that 
they could command an entire view of her manoeuvres, the 
disappointed sailor was obliged to cut short a communication 
which he would gladly have continued, until compelled to 
take the charge of the vessel from the hands of the pilot. 
By this time, however, the anchor was aweigh, and the sea- 
men were actively engaged in the process of making sail. 
Wilder lent himself with feverish excitement, to the duty ; 
and, taking the words from the officer who was issuing the 
orders, he assumed the immediate superintendence in person. 

As sheet after sheet of canvas fell from the yards, and 
became distended by the complicated mechanism, the inter- 
est that a seaman seldom fails to take in his vessel began to 
gain the ascendency over all other feelings. By the time 


1 66 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


everything was set, from the royals down, and the ship was 
cast with her head towards the harbor’s mouth, our adven- 
turer had momentarily forgotten that he was a stranger 
among those he was in so extraordinary a manner selected 
to command, and how precious a stake was intrusted to his 
firmness and decision. Everything being set to advantage, 
alow and aloft, and the ship brought close upon the wind, 
his eye scanned each yard and sail, from the truck to the 
hull, concluding by casting a glance along the outer side of 
the vessel, in order to see that not even the smallest rope 
was in the water to impede her progress. A small skiff, 
occupied by a boy, was towing under the lee, and as the 
mass of the vessel began to move, it was skipping along the 
surface of the water, light and buoyant as a feather. Per- 
ceiving it was a boat belonging to the shore, Wilder walked 
forward, and demanded who was its owner. A mate pointed 
to Joram, who at that moment ascended from the interior 
of the vessel, where he had been settling the balance due 
from a delinquent, or what was in his eyes the same thing, 
a departing debtor. 

The sight of this man recalled Wilder to a recollection 
of all that had occurred that morning, and of the whole 
delicacy of the task he had undertaken to perform. But 
the publican, whose ideas appeared always concentrated 
when occupied on the subject of gain, seemed troubled by 
no particular emotions at the interview. He approached 
the young mariner, and saluting him by the title of “ Cap- 
tain,” wished him a good voyage, with the customary com- 
pliments which seamen express, when about to separate on 
such an occasion. 

“ A lucky trip you have made of it, Captain Wilder,” he 
concluded, “ and I hope your passage will be short. You ’ll 
not be without a breeze this afternoon ; and, by stretching 
well over towards Montauk, you ’ll be able to make such an 
offing, on the other tack, as to run the coast down in the 
morning. If I am any judge of the weather, the wind will 
have more easting in it than you may happen to find to your 
fancy.” 

“And how long do you think my voyage is likely to 


XTbe lRet> iRov>er 


167 

last ? ’ ’ demanded Wilder, dropping his voice so low as to 
reach no ear but that of the publican. 

Joram cast a fugitive glance aside ; perceiving that they 
were alone, he suffered an expression of hardened cunning 
to take possession of a countenance that ordinarily seemed 
set in dull, physical contentment, and laying a finger on his 
nose, he muttered, — 

“Didn’t I tender the consignee a beautiful oath, Master 
Wilder? ” 

“You certainly exceeded my expectations with your 
prompitude, and — ” 

“Information!” added the landlord of the “Foul An- 
chor,” perceiving the other a little at a loss for a word. 
“ Yes, I have always been remarkable for the activity of my 
mind in these matters ; but, when a man once knows a thing 
thoroughly, it is a great folly to spend his breath in words.” 

“It is certainly a great advantage to be thoroughly in- 
structed. I suppose you improve your knowledge to a good 
account ? ’ ’ 

“Ah ! bless me, Master Wilder, what would become of 
us all, in these difficult times, if we did not turn an honest 
penny in every way that offers ? I have brought up sev- 
eral fine children in credit, and it sha’n’t be my fault if I 
don’t leave them something, too, besides my good name. 
Well, well, they say ‘ A nimble sixpence is as good as a 
lazy shilling ’ ; but give me the man who don’t stand shilly- 
shally when a friend has need of his good word, or a lift 
from his hand. You always know where to find such a 
man, as our politicians say, after they have gone through 
thick and thin in the cause, be it right or be it wrong.” 

“ Very commendable principles ! and such as will surely 
be the means of exalting you in the world sooner or later ! 
But you forget to answer my question — Will the passage be 
long, or short ? ” 

“ Heaven bless you, Master Wilder ! Is it for a poor 
publican like me, to tell the master of this noble ship which 
way the wind will blow next ? There is the worthy and 
notable Commander Nichols, lying in his state-room below, 
he could do anything with the vessel ; and why am I to 


1 68 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


expect that a gentleman so well recommended as yourself 
will do less? I expect to hear that you have made a 
famous run, and have done credit to the good word I have 
had occasion to say in your favor. ’ ’ 

Wilder execrated, in his heart, the wary cunning of the 
rogue with whom he was compelled, for the moment, to be 
in league ; for he saw plainly that a determination not to 
commit himself a tittle further than he might conceive to 
be absolutely necessary, was likely to render Joram too 
circumspect to answer his own immediate wishes. After 
hesitating a moment, to reflect, he continued, hastily, — 
“You see that the ship is gathering way too fast to 
admit of trifling. You know of the letter I received this 
morning ? ’ ’ 

4 ‘ Bless me, Captain Wilder ! Do you take me for a 
postmaster? How should I know what letters arrive at 
Newport, and what stop on the main ? ” 

4 4 As timid a villain as he is thorough ! ’ ’ muttered the 
young mariner. “ But this much you may surely say, am 
I to be followed immediately ? or is it expected that I shall 
detain the ship in the offing, under any pretence that I can 
devise ? ’ ’ 

“ Heaven keep you, young gentleman ! These are 
strange questions, coming from one who is fresh off the sea 
to a man that has done no more than look at it from the 
land these five-and-twenty years. According to my mem- 
ory, sir, you will keep the ship about south until you are 
clear of the islands ; and then you must make your calcula- 
tions according to the wind, in order not to get into the 
Gulf, where, you know, the stream will be setting you one 
Way, while your orders say ‘ Go another. ’ ’ ’ 

4 4 Tuff ! mind your luff, sir ! ’ ’ cried the pilot in a reprov- 
ing voice, to the man at the helm ; 4 4 luff you can ; on no 
account go to leeward of the slaver ! ’ ’ 

Wilder and the publican started, as if they both found 
something alarming in the proximity of the vessel just 
named ; and the former pointed to the skiff, as he sa ; . — 

44 Unless you wish to go to sea with us, Mr. Joram, it is 
time your boat held its master.’ ’ 


Ube iReb iRorer 


169 


“Ay, ay, I see you are fairly under way, and I must 
leave you, however much I like your company,” returned 
the landlord of the “ Foul Anchor,” bustling over the side, 
and getting into his skiff in the best manner he could. 

“ Well, boys, a good time to ye ; a plenty of wind, and of 
the right sort, a safe passage out, and a quick return. Cast 
off.” 

His order was obeyed ; the light skiff, no longer impelled 
by the ship, immediately deviated from its course ; and, after 
making a little circuit, it became stationary, while the mass 
of the vessel passed on with the steadiness of an elephant 
from whose back a butterfly had just taken its flight. Wilder 
followed the boat with his eyes for a moment ; but his 
thoughts were recalled by the voice of the pilot, who again 
called from the forward part of the ship, — 

“ L,et the light sails lift a little, boy ; let them lift, I say ; 
keep every inch you can, or you ’ll not weather the slaver. 
Fuff, I say, sir ; luff.” 

“ The slaver ! ” muttered our adventurer, hastening to a 
part of the ship whence he could command a view of that 
important, and to him, doubly interesting ship; “ay, the 
slaver ! it may be difficult, indeed, to weather upon the 
slaver ! ’ ’ 

He had unconsciously placed himself near Wyllys and 
Gertrude, the latter of whom was leaning on the rail of the 
quarter-deck, regarding the strange vessel at anchor with a 
pleasure far from unnatural to her years. 

“ You may laugh at me, and call me fickle and perhaps 
credulous, dear Mrs. Wyllys,” the unsuspecting girl said, 
just as Wilder took the position mentioned, “but I wish 
we were well out of this Royal Caroline, and that our 
passage was to be made in yonder beautiful ship.” 

“ It is indeed a beautiful ship ! ” returned Mrs. Wyllys ; 
“ but I know not that it would be safer, or more comfortable, 
than the one we are in.” 

“With what symmetry and order the ropes are arranged ! 
and how like a bird it floats upon the water ! ” 

“ Had you particularized the duck, the comparison would 
have been nautical,” said the governess, smiling mournfully ; 


170 


Ube IReb IRcwer 


“ you show capabilities, my love, to become one day a sea- 
man’s wife.” 

Gertrude blushed a little ; and, turning back her head to 
answer in the playful vein of her governess, her eye met the 
look of Wilder fastened on herself. The color on her cheek 
deepened to carnation, and she was mute ; the large gypsy 
hat she wore serving to conceal both her face and the confu- 
sion which suffused it. 

“You make no answer, child, as if you reflected seriously 
on the chances, ’ ’ continued Mrs. Wyllys, whose thoughtful 
and abstracted mien, however, proved she scarcely knew 
what she uttered. 

‘ ‘ The sea is too unstable an element for my taste, ’ ’ Ger- 
trude coldly answered. “ Pray tell me, Mrs. Wyllys, if the 
vessel we are approaching is a king’s ship ? She has a war- 
like, not to say a threatening exterior. ’ ’ 

“ The pilot has twice called her a slaver.” 

‘ ‘ A slaver ! How deceitful is all her beauty and sym- 
metry ! I will never trust to appearances again, since so 
lovely an object can be devoted to so vile a purpose.” 

“Deceitful, indeed!” said Wilder aloud, under an im- 
pulse that he found as irresistible as it was involuntary. 

‘ ‘ I will take upon myself to say, that a more treacherous 
vessel does not float the ocean, than yonder finely propor- 
tioned and admirably equipped — ” 

“Slaver!” added Mrs. Wyllys, who had time to turn, 
and to look her astonishment, before the young man ap- 
peared disposed to finish his sentence. 

“Slaver ! ” he said, with emphasis, bowing at the same 
time, as if to thank her for the word. 

After this interruption there was a profound silence. Mrs. 
Wyllys studied the disturbed features of the young man for 
a moment, with a counteuance that denoted a singular, 
though a complicated interest ; and then she gravely bent 
her eyes on the water, deeply occupied with intense and 
painful reflection. The light, symmetrical form of Gertrude 
continued leaning on the rail, it is true, but Wilder was un- 
able to catch another glimpse of her averted face. In the 
meanwhile, events that were of a character to withdraw his 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


171 

attention from even so pleasing a study, were hastening to 
their accomplishment. 

The ship, by this time, had passed between the little 
island and the point where Homespun embarked, and she 
might now be said to have fairly left the inner harbor. 
The slaver lay directly in her track, and every man in the 
vessel was watching with interest, to see whether they 
would be able to pass her weather-beam. The measure 
was desirable, because a seaman has a pride in keeping on 
the honorable side of everything he encounters, but chiefly 
because, from the position of the stranger, it would be the 
means of preventing the necessity of tacking before the 
Caroline reached a point more advantageous for such a 
manoeuvre. The reader will, however, readily understand 
that the interest of her new commander took its rise in 
feelings very different from professional pride, or momen- 
tary convenience. 

Wilder felt, in every nerve, the probability that a crisis 
was at hand. It will be remembered that he was profoundly 
ignorant of the immediate intentions of the Rover. As the 
fort was not in a state for service, it would not be difficult 
for the latter to seize upon his prey in open view of the 
townsmen, and bear it off, in contempt of their feeble means 
of defence. The position of the two ships was favorable to 
such an enterprise. Unprepared, and unsuspecting, the 
Caroline, at no time a match for her powerful adversary, 
must fall an easy victim ; nor would there be much reason 
to apprehend that a single shot from the battery could reach 
them, before the captor and his prize would be at such a 
distance as to render the blow next to impotent, if not 
utterly innocuous. The wild and audacious character of 
such an enterprise was in accordance with the reputation 
of the desperate freebooter, on whose caprice, alone, the act 
now seemed solely to depend. 

Under these impressions, and with the prospect of such a 
speedy termination to his new-born authority, it is not to be 
considered wonderful that our adventurer awaited the result 
with an interest greatly exceeding that of any of those by 
whom he was surrounded. He walked into the waist of the 


172 


Zhc IRefc 1Ro\>er 


ship, and endeavored to read the plan of his secret con- 
federates, by some of those indications that are familiar to a 
seaman. Not the smallest sign of any intention to depart, 
or in any manner to change her position, was discoverable 
in the pretended slaver. She lay in the same deep, beauti- 
ful, but treacherous quiet, as that in which she had reposed 
throughout the whole of the eventful morning. But a soli- 
tary individual could be seen amid the mazes of her rigging, 
or along the wide reaches of her spars. It was a seaman 
seated on the extremity of a lower yard, where he appeared 
to busy himself with one of those repairs that are so con- 
stantly required in the gear of a ship. As the man was 
placed on the weather-side of his own vessel, Wilder in- 
stantly conceived the idea that he was thus stationed to cast 
a grapnel into the rigging of the Caroline, should such a 
measure become necessary, in order to bring the two ships 
foul of each other. With the view to prevent so rude an 
encounter, he instantly determined to defeat the plan. 
Calling to the pilot, he told him the attempt to pass to 
windward was of very doubtful success, and reminded him 
that the safer way would be to go to leeward. 

“No fear, no fear, captain,” returned the stubborn con- 
ductor of the ship, who, as his authority was so brief, was 
only the more jealous of its unrestrained exercise, and who, 
like the usurper of a throne, felt a jealousy of the more legiti- 
mate power which he had temporarily dispossessed ; “ no 
fear of me, captain. I have trolled over this ground oftener 
than you have crossed the ocean, and I know the name of 
every rock on the bottom, as well as the town-crier knows 
the streets of Newport. L,et her luff, boy ; luff her into the 
very eye of the wind ; luff, you can — ’ ’ 

“You have the ship shivering as it is, sir ; should you get 
us foul of the slaver, who is to pay the cost ? ” 

“lam a general underwriter,” returned the opinionated 
pilot : ‘ ‘ my wife shall mend every hole I make in your sails 
with a needle no bigger than a hair, and with such a palm 
as a fairy’s thimble ! ” 

“ This is fine talking, sir, but you are already losing the 
ship’s way ; and, before you have ended your boasts, she will 


XTbe IRefc ;iRo\?et 


173 


be as fast in irons as a condemned thief. Keep the sails full, 
boy ; keep them a rap full, sir.” 

“Ay, ay, keep her a good full,” echoed the pilot, who, 
as the difficulty of passing to windward became more obvious, 
began to waver in his resolution. “ Keep her full-and-by — 
I have always told you full-and-by. I don’t know, captain, 
seeing that the wind has hauled a little, but we shall have 
to pass to leeward yet ; you will acknowledge that, in such 
case, we shall be obliged to go about.” 

Now, in point of fact, the wind, though a little lighter 
than it had been, was, if anything, a trifle more favorable ; 
nor had Wilder ever, in any manner, denied that the ship 
would not have to tack some twenty minutes sooner, by 
going to leeward of the other vessel, than if she had suc- 
ceeded in her delicate experiment of passing on the more 
honorable side ; but, as the vulgarest minds are always the 
most reluctant to confess their blunders, the discomfited 
pilot was disposed to qualify the concession he found him- 
self compelled to make, by some salvo of the sort, that he 
might not lessen his reputation for foresight among his 
auditors. 

“ Keep her away at once,” cried Wilder, who was begin- 
ning to change the tones of remonstrance for those of com- 
mand ; ‘ ‘ keep the ship away, sir, while you have room to 
do it, or, by the — ” 

His lips became motionless ; for his eye happened to fall 
on the pale features of the frightened Gertrude. 

“ I believe it must be done, seeing that the wind is haul- 
ing. Hard up, boy, and run under the stem of the ship at 
anchor. Hold ! keep your luff again ; eat into the wind to 
the bone, boy ; lift again ; let the light sails lift. The slaver 
has run a warp directly across our track. If there ’s law in 
the Plantations, I ’ll have her captain before the courts for 
this!” 

“ What does the fellow mean ? ” demanded Wilder, jump- 
ing hastily on a gun, to get a better view. 

His mate pointed to the lee quarter of the other vessel, 
where, sure enough, a large rope was seen whipping the 
water, in the very process of being extended. The truth 


i74 


Zhc IRefc 1Ro\>er 


instantly flashed on the mind of our young mariner. The 
Rover lay secretly moored with a spring, with a view to 
bring his guns more readily to bear upon the battery should 
his defence become necessary, and he now profited by the 
circumstance, in order to prevent the trader from passing 
to leeward. The whole arrangement excited a good deal of 
surprise, and not a few execrations among the officers of 
the Caroline, though none but her commander had the 
smallest twinkling of the real reason why the kedge had 
thus been laid, and why a warp was so awkwardly stretched 
across their path. Of the whole number, the pilot alone 
saw cause to rejoice in the circumstance. He had, in fact, 
got the ship in such a situation as to render it nearly as 
difficult to proceed in one way as in the other ; and he was 
now furnished with a sufficient justification, should any acci- 
dent occur, in the course of the exceedingly critical manoeu- 
vre, from whose execution there was now no retreat. 

‘ ‘ This is an extraordinary liberty to take in the mouth 
of a harbor,” muttered Wilder, when his eyes put him in 
possession of the fact just related. “ You must shove her 
by to windward, pilot ; there is no remedy. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I wash my hands of the consequences, as I call all on board 
to witness,” returned the other, with an air of an offended 
man, though secretly glad of the appearance of being driven 
to the very measure he was a minute before so obstinately 
bent on executing. “ Taw must be called in here, if sticks 
are snapped or rigging parted. Tuff to a hair, boy ; luff her 
short into the wind, and try a half-board.” 

The man at the helm obeyed the order. Releasing his 
hold of its spokes, the wheel made a quick evolution ; and 
the ship, feeling a fresh impulse of the wind, turned her 
head heavily towards the quarter whence it came, the can- 
vas fluttering with a noise like that produced by a flock of 
water- fowl taking wing. But, met by the helm again, she 
soon fell off as before, powerless from having lost her way, 
and settling bodily down towards the fancied slaver, im- 
pelled by the air, which seemed to have lost much of its 
force at the critical instant it was most needed. 

The situation of the Caroline was one which a seaman 


Ube IReb IRover 


x 75 


will readily understand. She had forged so far ahead as to 
lie directly on the weather-beam of the stranger, but too 
near to enable her to fall-off in the least, without imminent 
danger that the vessels would fall foul of each other. The 
wind was inconstant, sometimes blowing in puffs, while at 
moments there was a lull. As the ship felt the former, her 
tall masts bent gracefully towards the slaver, as if to make 
the parting salute ; but, relieved from the momentary press- 
ure of the inconstant air, she as often rolled heavily to wind- 
ward without advancing a foot. The effect of each change, 
however, was to bring her still nigher to her dangerous 
neighbor, until it became evident, to the judgment of the 
youngest seaman in the vessel, that nothing but a sudden 
shift of wind could enable her to pass ahead, the more espec- 
ially as the tide was on the change. 

The inferior officers of the Caroline were not delicate in 
making their comments on the dulness which had brought 
them into so awkward and so mortifying a position, and the 
pilot endeavored to conceal his vexation, by the number and 
vociferousness of his orders. From blustering, he soon 
passed into confusion, until the men themselves stood idle, 
not knowing which of the uncertain and contradictory man- 
dates ought to be obeyed. In the meantime, Wilder had 
folded his arms with an appearance of entire composure, 
and taken his station near his female passengers. Mrs. 
Wyllys studied his eye, with the wish of ascertaining by its 
expression the nature and extent of their danger, if danger 
there might be in the approaching collision of two ships in 
water that was perfectly smooth, and where one was sta- 
tionary, and the motion of the other scarcely perceptible. 
The stern, determined look she saw settling about the brow 
of the young man, excited an uneasiness that she would not 
otherwise have felt, under circumstances that, in themselves, 
bore no very vivid appearance of hazard. 

“Have we aught to apprehend, sir?” demanded the 
governess, endeavoring to conceal from her charge the 
nature of her own disquietude. 

“ I told you, madam, the Caroline would prove an un- 
lucky ship.” 


176 


XT be IRefc IRover 


Both females regarded the peculiarly bitter smile with 
which Wilder made this reply as an evil omen, and Ger- 
trude clung to her companion as to one on whom she had 
long been accustomed to lean. 

‘ ‘ Why do not the mariners of the slaver appear, to assist 
us — to keep us from coming too nigh ? ’ ’ anxiously demanded 
the latter. 

“ Why do they not, indeed ! — we shall see them, I think, 
ere long.” 

‘‘You speak and look, young man, as if you thought 
there would be danger in the interview ! ’ ’ 

“ Keep near to me,” returned Wilder, in a voice that was 
nearly smothered by the manner in which he compressed 
his lips. “ In every event, keep as nigh my person as pos- 
sible.” 

‘ ‘ Haul the spanker-boom to windward, ’ ’ shouted the pilot ; 
“ lower away the boats, and tow the ship’s head round — 
clear away the stream anchor — aft jib sheet — board main 
tack, again.” 

The astonished men stood like statues, not knowing 
whither to turn, some calling to the rest to do this or that, 
and some as loudly countermanding the order ; when an 
authoritative voice was heard calmly to say, — 

* ‘ Silence in the ship ! ’ ’ 

The tones were of that sort which, while they denote 
the self-possession of the speaker, never fail to inspire the 
inferior with a portion of the confidence of him who com- 
mands. Every face was turned towards the quarter of the 
vessel whence the sound proceeded, each ear ready to catch 
the smallest additional mandate. Wilder was standing on 
the head of the capstan, where he could command a full 
view on every side of him. With a quick and understand- 
ing glance, he had made himself a perfect master of the 
situation of his ship. His eye was at the instant fixed 
anxiously on the slaver, to pierce the treacherous calm which 
still reigned on all about her, in order to know how far his 
exertions might be permitted to be useful. But it appeared 
as if the stranger lay like some enchanted vessel on the 
water, not a human form appearing about her complicated 


Ube IReb lRo\>er 


177 


machinery, except the seaman already named, who still con- 
tinued his employment, with as much indifference as if the 
Caroline was a hundred miles from the place where he sat. 
The lips of Wilder moved, whether in bitterness or in sat- 
isfaction it would be difficult to say ; and he motioned to 
the attentive crew to be quick. 

“ Throw all aback— lay everything flat to the masts, 
forward and aft,” he said. 

“Ay!” echoed the pilot, “lay everything flat to the 
masts.” 

“Is there a shore-boat alongside the ship?” demanded 
our adventurer. 

The answer, from a dozen voices, was in the affirmative. 

‘ ‘ Show that pilot into her. ’ * 

“This is an unlawful order,” exclaimed the other ; “I 
forbid any voice but mine to be obeyed.” 

“ Throw him in ! ” repeated Wilder. 

Amid the bustle and exertion of bracing round the yards, 
the resistance of the pilot produced little sensation. He 
was raised on the extended arms of the two mates, and 
after exhibiting his limbs in sundry contortions in the air, 
he was dropped into the boat with as little ceremony as a 
billet of wood. The end of the painter was cast after him ; 
and the discomfited guide was left, with singular indiffer- 
ence, to his own meditations. 

In the meantime, the order of Wilder was executed. 
Those vast sheets of canvas which, a moment before, had 
been either fluttering in the air, or were bellying inward or 
outward as they touched or filled, as it is technically called, 
were now pressing against their respective masts, impelling 
the vessel to retrace her mistaken path. The manoeuvre 
required the utmost attention, and the nicest delicacy in its 
direction. But her young commander proved himself, in 
every particular, competent to the task. Here, a sail was 
lifted ; there, another was brought with a flatter surface to 
the air ; now, the lighter canvas was spread ; and now it 
disappeared, like thin vapor dispelled by the sun. The 
voice of Wilder throughout, though calm, was breathing 

with authority. The ship itself seemed, like an animated 
12 


i7» 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


being, conscious that her destinies were reposed in different 
and more intelligent hands than before. Obedient to the 
new impulse they had received, the immense clouds of can- 
vas, with the tall forest of spars and rigging, rolled to and 
fro ; and then, having overcome its state of rest, the vessel 
heavily yielded to the pressure and began to recede. 

Throughout the whole of the time necessary to extricate 
the Caroline, the attention of Wilder was divided between 
his own ship and his inexplicable neighbor. Not a sound 
was heard to issue from the imposing stillness of the latter. 
Not a single anxious countenance, not even one lurking eye, 
was to be detected, at any of the numerous outlets b}^ which 
the inmates of an armed vessel can look abroad upon the 
deep. The seaman on the yard continued his labor, like a 
man unconscious of anything but his own employment. 
There was, however, a slow, though nearly imperceptible 
motion in the ship itself, which was apparently made, like 
the lazy movement of a slumbering whale, more by listless 
volition, than through any agency of human hands. 

Not the smallest of these changes escaped the keen ex- 
amination of Wilder. He saw, that as his own ship retired, 
the side of the slaver was gradually exposed to the Caroline. 
The muzzles of the threatening guns gaped constantly on his 
vessel, as the eye of the crouching tiger follows the move- 
ment of its prey ; and at no time, while nearest, did there ex- 
ist a single instant that the decks of the latter ship could not 
have been swept by a general discharge from the battery of 
the former. As each successive order issued from his own 
lips, our adventurer turned his eye with increasing interest 
to ascertain whether he would be permitted to execute it ; and 
never did he feel certain that he was left to the sole manage- 
ment of the Caroline, until he found that she had backed 
from her dangerous proximity to the other, and that, obedi- 
ent to a new disposition of her sails, she was falling off be- 
fore the light air, in a place where he could hold her entirely 
at command. 

Finding that the tide was getting unfavorable, and the 
wind too light to stem it, the sails were drawn to the yards, 
and an anchor was dropped. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

“ What have we here ? A man or a fish ? ” 

The Tempest. 

T HE Caroline now lay within a cable’s length of the 
supposed slaver. In dismissing the pilot, Wilder 
had assumed a responsibility from which a sea- 
man usually shrinks ; since, in the case of any 
untoward accident in leaving the port, it would involve a loss 
of insurance, and his own probable punishment. How far 
he had been influenced in taking so decided a step, by a 
knowledge of his being beyond or above the reach of law, 
will be made manifest in the course of the narrative ; the 
only immediate effect of the measure was, to draw the whole 
of his attention, which had before been so much divided be- 
tween his passengers and the ship, to the care of the latter. 
But so soon as his vessel was secured for a time at least, 
and his mind was no longer excited by the expectation of a 
scene of immediate violence, our adventurer found leisure to 
return to his former occupation. The success of his delicate 
manoeuvre had imparted to his countenance a glow of some- 
thing like triumph, and his step as he advanced towards 
Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude was that of a man who enjoyed 
the consciousness of having acquitted himself dexterously in 
circumstances that required no small exhibition of profes- 
sional skill. At least such was the construction the former 
lady put upon his kindling eye and exulting air ; though 
the latter might, possibly, be disposed to judge of his mo- 
tives with greater indulgence. Both, however, were ignorant 
of the true reasons of his self-felicitation, for a sentiment 
more generous than either of them could imagine had a full 
share in his present feelings. 

179 


i8o 


XTbe IRefc 1Rov>er 


L,et the cause of his exultation be what it would, Wilder 
no sooner saw the Caroline swinging to her anchor, and that 
his services w T ere of no further immediate use, than he 
sought an opportunity to renew a conversation which had 
hitherto been so vague and so often interrupted. Mrs. 
Wyllys had been viewing the neighboring vessel with a 
steady look ; nor did she now turn her gaze from the mo- 
tionless and silent object, until the young mariner was near 
her person. She was then the first to speak. 

“ Yonder vessel must possess an extraordinary, not to say 
an insensible crew ! ’ ’ exclaimed the governess, in a tone 
bordering on astonishment. “ If such things were, it would 
not be difficult to fancy her a spectre ship.” 

‘ ‘ She is truly an admirably proportioned and a beautifully 
equipped trader ! ” 

“ Did my apprehensions deceive me? or were we in actual 
danger of getting the two vessels entangled ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ There was certainly some reason for apprehension ; but 
we are now safe. ’ ’ 

“ For which we have to thank your skill. The manner in 
which you have just extricated us from the late danger has 
a direct tendency to contradict all that you have foretold of 
that which is to come.” 

‘ ‘ I well know that my conduct may bear an unfavorable 
construction, but — ” 

“You thought it no harm to laugh at the weakness of 
three credulous females,” resumed Mrs. Wyllys, smiling. 
“You have had your amusement, and now, I hope, you will 
be more disposed to pity what is said to be a natural infirmity 
of woman’s mind.” 

The governess glanced her eye at Gertrude, with an ex- 
pression that seemed to say it would be cruel to trifle further 
with the apprehensions of one so innocent and so young. 
The look of Wilder followed her own ; and he answered 
with a sincerity that was well calculated to carry convic- 
tion, — 

‘ ‘ On the faith which a gentleman owes to all of your sex, 
madam, what I have already told you I continue to be- 
lieve.” 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


181 


‘ ‘ The gammonings and the top-gallant masts ! ’ ’ 

“ No, no,” interrupted the young mariner, slightly laugh- 
ing, and at the same time coloring a good deal ; ‘ ‘ perhaps 
not all of that. But neither mother, wife, nor sister of mine, 
should make this passage in the Royal Caroline.” 

“ Your look, your voice, and your air of good faith, form 
a strange contradiction to your words, young man ; for 
while the former almost tempt me to believe you honest, 
the latter have not a shade of reason to support them. 
Perhaps I ought to be ashamed of such a weakness, and 
yet I will acknowledge that the mysterious quiet which 
seems to have settled forever on yonder ship, has excited 
an inexplicable uneasiness, that may in some way be con- 
nected with her character. She is certainly a slaver ? ’ * 

“ She is certainly beautiful ! ” exclaimed Gertrude. 

“ Very beautiful ! ” Wilder rejoined. 

‘ ‘ There is a man still seated on one of her yards, who 
appears to be entranced in his occupation, * ’ continued Mrs. 
Wyllys, leaning her chin thoughtfully on a hand, as she 
gazed at the object of which she was speaking. “Not 
once, during the time we were in so much danger of get- 
ting the ships entangled, did that seaman bestow so much 
as a stolen glance towards us. He resembles the solitary 
individual in the city of the transformed ; for not another 
mortal is there to keep him company, so far as we may 
discover. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Perhaps his comrades sleep, ’ ’ said Gertrude. 

“Sleep! Mariners do not sleep in an hour and a day 
like this ! Tell me, Mr. Wilder (you that are a seaman 
should know), is it usual for the crew to sleep when a 
strange vessel is so nigh — near even to touching, I might 
almost say ? ’ * 

“It is not.” 

‘ ‘ I thought as much ; for I am not an entire novice in 
matters of your daring, your hardy, your noble profession ! ” 
returned the governess with emphasis. ‘ ‘ Had we gone foul 
of the slaver, do you think her crew would have maintained 
their apathy ? ’ * 

“ I think not.” 


182 


Xlbe IReb Iftovet 


“ There is something in all this assumed tranquillity, which 
might induce one to suspect the worst. Is it known that 
any of her crew have had communication with the town 
since her arrival ? ’ ’ 

“It is.” 

“I have heard that false colors have been seen on the 
coast, and that ships have been plundered, and their people 
and passengers maltreated, during the past summer. It is 
even thought that the famous Rover has tired of his ex- 
cesses on the Spanish Main, and that a vessel was not long 
since seen in the Caribbean Sea, which was thought to be 
the cruiser of that desperate pirate ! ” 

Wilder made no reply. His eyes, which had been fas- 
tened steadily, though respectfully, on those of the speaker, 
fell to the deck, and he appeared to await her further pleas- 
ure. The governess mused a moment ; and then, with a 
change in the expression of her countenance which proved 
that her suspicion of the truth was too light to continue 
without further and better confirmation, she added, — 

“After all, the occupation of a slaver is bad enough, and 
unhappily by far too probable, to render it necessary to at 
tribute any worse character to the stranger. I would I knew 
the motive of your singular assertions, Mr. Wilder ? ’ ’ 

“ I cannot better explain them, madam : unless my man- 
ner produces its effect, I fail altogether in my intentions, 
which at least are sincere. ’ ’ 

“ Is not the risk lessened by your presence ? ” 

“ Lessened, but not removed.” 

Until now, Gertrude had rather listened, as if unavoida- 
bly, than seeming to make one of the party. But here she 
turned quickly, and perhaps a little impatiently, to Wilder, 
and while her cheeks glowed, she demanded, with a smile 
that might have brought even a more obdurate man to his 
confession, — 

“ Is it forbidden to be more explicit ? ’ ’ 

The young commander hesitated, perhaps as much to 
dwell upon the ingenuous features of the speaker, as to de- 
cide upon his answer. The color mounted into his em- 
browned cheek, and his eye lighted with a gleam of pleasure ; 


Xlbe IReb iRover 


183 

then, suddenly reminded that he was delaying to reply, he 
said, — 

“I am certain, that in relying on your discretion, I shall 
be safe.” 

“ Doubt not,” returned Mrs. Wyllys. “ In no event shall 
you ever be betrayed.” 

“Betrayed ! For myself, madam, I have little fear. If 
you suspect me of personal apprehension, you do me great 
injustice.” 

“We suspect you of nothing unworthy,” said Gertrude, 
hastily ; “ but— we are very anxious for ourselves.” 

“Then will I relieve your uneasiness, though at the 
expense of — ’ ’ 

A call, from one of the mates to the other, arrested his 
words for the moment, and drew his attention to the other 
ship. 

“ The slaver’s people have just found out that their ship 
is not made to put in a glass case, to be looked at by women 
and children,” cried the speaker, in tones loud enough to 
send his words into the fore-top, where the messmate he 
addressed was attending to some especial duty. 

“Ay, ay,” was the answer; “seeing us in motion has 
put him in mind of his next voyage. They keep watch 
aboard the fellow, like the sun in Greenland ; six months 
on deck, and six months below ! ” 

The witticism produced, as usual, a laugh among the sea- 
men, who continued their remarks in a similar vein, but in 
tones more suited to the deference due their superiors. 

The eyes of Wilder, however, had fastened on the other 
ship. The man so long seated on the end of the main-yard 
had disappeared, and another sailor was deliberately walking 
along the opposite quarter of the same spar, steadying him- 
self by the boom, and holding in one hand the end of a 
rope, which he was apparently about to reeve in the place 
where it properly belonged. The first glance told Wilder 
that the latter was Fid, who was so far recovered from his 
debauch as to tread the giddy height with as much, if not 
greater, steadiness than he would have rolled along the 
ground, had his duty called him to terra jirma. The coun- 


184 


Ube 1 Reb IRcwer 


tenance of the young man, which, an instant before, had 
been flushed with excitement, and which was beaming with 
the pleasure of an opening confidence, changed directly to a 
look of gloom and reserve. Mrs. Wyllys, who had lost no 
shade of the varying expression of his face, resumed the 
discourse with some earnestness, where he had seen fit so 
abruptly to break it off. 

“You would relieve us,” she said, “ at the expense of — ” 

“Fife, madam ; but not of honor.” 

“Gertrude, we can now retire to our cabin,” observed 
Mrs. Wyllys, with an air of cold displeasure, in which dis- 
appointment was a good deal mingled with resentment at 
the trifling of which she believed herself the subject. The 
eye of Gertrude was no less averted and distant than that 
of her governess, while the tint that gave lustre to its beam 
was brighter, if not quite so resentful. As they moved past 
the silent Wilder, each dropped a distant salute, and then 
our adventurer found himself the sole occupant of the 
quarter-deck. While his crew were busied in coiling ropes, 
and clearing the decks, their young commander leaned his 
head on the taffrail (that part of the vessel which the good 
relict of the rear-admiral had so strangely confounded with 
a very different object in the other end of the ship), re- 
maining for many minutes in an attitude of abstraction. 
From this reverie he was at length aroused, by a sound like 
that produced by the lifting and falling of a light oar into 
the water. 

Believing himself about to be annoyed by visitors from 
the land, he raised his head, casting a dissatisfied glance 
over the vessel’s side, to see who was approaching. 

A light skiff, such as is commonly used by fishermen in 
the bays and shallow waters of America, was lying within 
ten feet of the ship, and in a position where it was necessary 
to take some little pains in order to observe it. 

It was occupied by a single man, whose back was towards 
the vessel, and who was apparently abroad on the ordinary 
business of the owner of such a boat. 

“ Are you in search of rudder-fish, my friend, that you 
hang so closely under my counter?” demanded Wilder. 


Ube IRefc iRcwer 185 


‘ ‘ The bay is said to be full of delicious bass and other scaly 
gentlemen, that would far better repay your trouble.” 

“ He is well paid who gets the bite he baits for,” returned 
the other, turning his head, and exhibiting the cunning eye 
and chuckling countenance of old Bob Bunt, as Wilder’s 
recent and treacherous confederate had announced his name 
to be. 

‘ ‘ How now ! Dare you trust yourself with me, in five- 
fathom water, after the villainous trick you have seen fit — ’ ’ 

“ Hist ! noble captain, hist ! ” interrupted Bob, holding 
up a finger, to repress the other’s animation, and intimating, 
by a sign, that their conference must be held in lower tones ; 

‘ ‘ there is no need to call all hands to help us through a little 
chat. In what way have I fallen to leeward in your favor, 
captain ? ’ ’ 

“In what way, sirrah! Did you not receive money, to 
give such a character of this ship to the ladies as (you said 
yourself) would make them sooner pass the night in a 
churchyard than trust foot on board her? ” 

‘ ‘ Something of the sort passed between us, captain ; but 
you forget one half of the conditions, and I overlooked the 
other ; I need not tell so expert a navigator, that two halves 
make a whole. No wonder, therefore, that the affair dropped 
through between us.” 

“How ! Do you add falsehood to perfidy? What part 
of my engagement did I neglect ? ” 

“What part!” returned the pretended fisherman, lei- 
surely drawing in a line, which the quick eye of Wilder saw, 
though abundantly provided with lead at the end, was desti- 
tute of the equally material implement, the hook ; ‘ ‘ what 
part, captain ! No less a particular than the second guinea. ’ ’ 

“ it was to have been the reward of a service done, and 
not an earnest, like its fellow, to induce you to undertake 
the duty.” 

“Ah ! you have helped me to the very word I wanted. 
I fancied it was not in earnest like the one I got, and so I 
left the job half finished.” 

“Half finished, scoundrel ! you never commenced what 
you swore so stoutly to perform.” 


Ube IReb IRover 


1 86 


“ Now are you on as wrong a course, my master, as if 
you steered due east to get to the pole. I religiously per- 
formed one half of my undertaking ; and, you will acknowl- 
edge, I was only half paid.” 

“ You would find it difficult to prove that you even did 
that little.” 

”L,et us look into the log. I enlisted to walk up the 
hill as far as the dwelling of the good admiral’s widow, and 
there to make certain alterations in my sentiments, which it 
is not necessary to speak of between us. ” ' 

“ Which you did not make ; but, on the contrary, which 
you thwarted, by telling an exactly contradictory tale.” 

“True.” 

“True, knave ! Were justice done you, an acquaintance 
with a rope’s end would be your reward.” 

“ A squall of words ! If your ship steer as wild as your 
ideas, captain, you will make a crooked passage to the south. 
Do you not think it an easier matter for an old man like 
me to tell a few lies, than to climb yonder long and heavy 
hill ? In strict j ustice, more than half my duty was done 
when I got into the presence of the believing widow ; and 
then I concluded to refuse the half of the reward that was 
unpaid, and to take bounty from t’other side.” 

“ Villain ! ” exclaimed Wilder, a little blinded by resent- 
ment, ‘ ‘ even your years shall no longer protect you. For- 
ward, there ! send a crew into the jolly boat, sir, and bring 
me this old fellow in the skiff on board the ship. Pay no 
attention to his outcries ; I have an account to settle with 
him, that cannot be balanced without a little noise.” 

The mate to whom this order was addressed, and who 
had answered the hail, jumped on the rail where he got 
sight of the craft he was commanded to chase. In less than 
a minute he was in the boat, with four men, and pulling 
around the bows of the ship, in order to get on the side 
necessary to effect his object. The self-styled Bob Bunt 
gave one or two strokes with his sculls, and sent the skiff 
some twenty or thirty fathoms off, where he lay, chuckling 
like a man who saw only the success of his cunning, without 
any apparent apprehensions of the consequences. But the 


t£be iRefc 1 Rove? 


187 


moment the boat appeared in view he laid himself to the 
work with vigorous arms, and soon convinced the spectators 
that his capture was not easily to be achieved. 

For some little time it was doubtful what course the 
fugitive meant to take ; for he kept whirling and turning in 
swift and sudden circles, completely confusing and baffling 
his pursuers by his skilful and light evolutions. But, tiring 
of this amusement, or perhaps apprehensive of exhausting 
his own strength, which was powerfully and most dexter- 
ously exerted, it was not long before he darted on in a per- 
fectly straight line, taking the direction of the Rover. 

The chase now grew hot and earnest, exciting the clamor 
and applause of most of the nautical spectators. The result, 
for a time, seemed doubtful ; but, if anything, the jolly 
boat, though some distance astern, began to gain, as it grad- 
ually overcame the resistance of the water. In a very few 
minutes, however, the skiff shot under the stern of the other 
ship, and disappeared, bringing the hull of the vessel in a 
line with the Caroline and its course. The pursuers were 
not long in taking the same direction ; and then the 
seamen of the latter ship began, laughingly, to climb the 
rigging, in order to command a view over the intervening 
object. 

Nothing, however, was to be seen beyond but water, and 
the still more distant island with its little fort. In a few 
minutes, the crew of the jolly boat were observed pulling 
back in their path, returning slowly, like men who were 
disappointed. All crowded to the side of the ship in order 
to hear the termination of the adventure, the noisy assem- 
blage even drawing the two passengers from the cabin to the 
deck. Instead, however, of meeting the questions of their 
shipmates with the usual wordy narrative of men of their 
condition, the crew of the boat were silent and perplexed. 
Their officer sprang to the deck without speaking, and he 
immediately sought his commander. 

“ The skiff was too light for you, Mr. Knighthead,” 
Wilder calmly observed as the other approached, having 
never moved, himself, from the place where he had been 
standing during the whole proceeding. 


i88 


Uhc IRefc 1Rov>er 


‘ ‘ Too light, sir ! Are you acquainted with the man who 
pulled it?” 

“ Not particularly well ; I only know him for a knave.” 

“ He should be one, since he is of the family of the 
devil ! ” 

‘ ‘ I will not take on myself to say he is as bad as you 
appear to think, though I have little reason to believe he 
has any honesty to cast into the sea. What has become of 
him?” 

“ A question easily asked, but hard to answer. In the 
first place, though an old and a gray-headed fellow, he 
twitched his skiff along as if it floated in air. We were not 
a minute, or two at the most, behind him ; but, when we 
got on the other side of the slaver, boat and man had 
vanished ! ’ ’ 

“ He doubled her bows while you were crossing the 
stern.” 

“ Did you see him, then ? ” 

“ I confess we did not.” 

‘ ‘ It could not be, sir ; since we pulled far enough ahead 
to examine on both sides at once ; besides, the people of 
the slaver knew nothing of him.” 

“You saw the slaver’s people ? ” 

“ I should have said her man ; for there is seemingly but 
one hand on board her.” 

“ And how was he employed ? ” 

“ He was seated in the chains, and seemed to have been 
asleep. It is a lazy ship, sir; and one that takes more 
money from her owners, I fancy, than it ever returns ! ” 

“ It may be so. Well, let the rogue escape. There is 
the prospect of a breeze coming in from the sea, Mr. 
Baring ; we will get our top-sails to the mast-heads again, 
and be in readiness for it. I could like yet to see the sun 
set in the water.” 

The mates and the crew went cheerfully to their task, 
though many a curious question was asked by the wonder- 
ing seamen of their shipmates who had been in the boat, 
and many a solemn answer was given, while they were 
again spreading the canvas to invite the breeze. Wilder 


Ube IReb iRover 


189 


turned, in the meantime, to Mrs. Wyllys, who had been an 
auditor of his short conversation with the mate. 

“You perceive, madam,” he said, “ that our voyage does 
not commence without its omens.” 

“When you tell me, inexplicable young man, with the 
air of singular sincerity you sometimes possess, that we are 
unwise in trusting to the ocean, I am half inclined to put 
faith in what you say ; but when you attempt to enforce 
your advice with the machinery of witchcraft, you only 
induce me to proceed.” 

“Man the windlass!” cried Wilder, with a look that 
seemed to tell his companions, If you are so stout of heart, 
the opportunity to show your resolution shall not be want- 
ing. “Man the windlass there! We will try the breeze 
again, and work the ship into the offing while there is 
light.” 

The clattering of handspikes preceded the mariners’ song. 
Then the heavy labor, by which the ponderous iron was 
lifted from the bottom, was again resumed, and, in a few 
more minutes, the ship was once more released from her 
hold upon the land. 

The wind soon came fresh off the ocean, charged with the 
saline dampness of the element. As the air fell upon the 
distended and balanced sails, the ship bowed to the wel- 
come guest ; and then, rising gracefully from its low inclina- 
tion, the breeze was heard singing, through the maze of 
rigging, the music that is so grateful to a seaman s ear. 
The welcome sounds, and the freshness of the peculiar air, 
gave additional energy to the movements of the men. The 
anchor was stowed, the ship cast, the lighter sails set, the 
courses had fallen, and the bows of the Caroline were 
throwing the spray before her, ere ten minutes more had 
gone by. 

Wilder had now undertaken the task of running his ves- 
sel between the islands of Canonicut and Rhode. Fortu- 
nately for the heavy responsibility he had assumed, the 
channel was not difficult, and the wind had veered so far to 
the east as to give him a favorable opportunity, after making 
a short stretch to windward, of laying through in a single 


XTbe 1Re£> IRover 


I90 

reach. But this stretch would bring him under the neces- 
sity of passing very near the Rover, or of losing no small 
portion of his vantage ground. He did not hesitate. 
When the vessel was as nigh the weather shore as his busy 
lead told him was prudent, the ship was tacked, and her 
head laid directly towards the still motionless and seemingly 
unobservant slaver. 

The approach of the Caroline was more propitious than 
before. The wind was steady, and her crew held her in 
hand, as a skilful rider governs the action of a fiery and 
mettled steed. 

Still the passage was not made without exciting a breath- 
less interest in every soul in the Bristol trader. Each 
individual had his own secret cause of curiosity. To the 
seamen, the strange ship began to be the subject of wonder ; 
the governess and her ward scarce knew the reasons of 
their interest ; while Wilder was but too well instructed in 
the nature of the hazard that all but himself were running. 
As before, the man at the wheel was about to indulge his 
nautical pride, by going to windward ; but, although the 
experiment would now have been attended with no hazard, 
he was commanded to proceed differently. 

“ Pass the slaver’s lee-beam, sir,” said Wilder with a 
gesture of authority ; and then the young captain went him- 
self to lean on the weather rail, like every other idler on 
board, to examine the object they were so fast approaching. 
As the Caroline came boldly up, seeming to bear the breeze 
before her, the sighing of the wind, as it murmured through 
the rigging of the stranger, was the only sound that issued 
from her. Not a single human face, not even a secret and 
curious eye, was anywhere to be seen. The passage was 
rapid ; and, as the two vessels lay with heads and sterns 
nearly in a line, Wilder thought it was to be made without 
the slightest notice from the imaginary slaver. He was 
mistaken. A light, active form, in the undress attire of a 
naval officer, sprang upon the taffrail, and waved a sea-cap 
in salute. The instant the fair hair was blowing about the 
countenance of this individual. Wilder recognized the fea- 
tures of the Rover. 


Uhc IRefc 1Ro\>er 


191 

“Think you the wind will hold here, sir?” shouted the 
latter, at the top of his voice. 

“It has come in fresh enough to be steady,” was the 
answer. 

“A wise mariner would get his offing in time; to me, 
there is a smack of West Indies about it.” 

“You believe we shall have it more at south ? ” 

“ I do ; but a taut bowline for the night will carry you 
clear. ’ , 

By this time the Caroline had swept by, and she was 
now luffing, across the slaver’s bows, into her course again. 
The figure on the taffrail waved the sea-cap in adieu, and 
disappeared. 

“Is it possible that such a man can traffic in human 
beings?” exclaimed Gertrude, when the sounds of both 
voices had ceased. 

Receiving no reply, she turned to regard her companion. 
The governess was standing like a being entranced, her 
eyes looking on vacancy. They had not changed their 
direction since the motion of the vessel had carried her 
beyond the view of the countenance of the stranger. 
Gertrude took her hand, and repeated the question, when 
the recollection of Mrs. Wyllys returned. Passing her 
hand over her brow, with a bewildered air, she forced a 
smile, as she said, — 

“ The meeting of vessels, or the renewal of any maritime 
experience, never fails to revive my earliest recollections, 
love. But surely that was an extraordinary being, who has 
at length shown himself in the slaver ! ’ ’ 

“ For a slaver, most extraordinary ! ” 

Mrs. Wyllys leaned her head on a hand for an instant 
and then turned to look for Wilder. The young mariner 
was standing near, watching the expression of her counte- 
nance, with an interest scarcely less remarkable than her 
own air of thought. 

“Tell me, young man, is yonder individual the com- 
mander of the slaver? ” 

“He is.” 

“ You know him ? ” 


192 


Ube IReb IRorer 


“ We have met.” 

“ And he is called — ” 

“ The master of yon ship. I know no other name.” 

“Gertrude, we will seek our cabin. When we are 
quitting the land, Mr. Wilder will have the goodness to let 
us know.” 

The latter bowed his assent, and the ladies left the deck. 
The Caroline had now the prospect of getting speedily to 
sea. In order to effect this object, Wilder had everything 
that would draw set to the utmost advantage. One hun- 
dred times, at least, however, did he turn his head, to steal 
a look at the vessel he left behind. She lay as when they 
passed — a regular, beautiful, but motionless object in the 
bay. From each of these furtive examinations, our adven- 
turer invariably cast an excited and impatient glance at the 
sails of his own ship ; ordering this to be drawn tighter to 
the spar beneath, or that to be more distended along its 
mast. 

The effect of so much solicitude, united with so much 
skill, was to urge the Bristol trader through her element at 
a rate she had rarely, if ever surpassed. It was not long 
before the land ceased to be seen on her two beams, and 
then it was only to be traced in the blue islands in their 
rear, or in a long, dim horizon, to the north and west, 
where the vast continent stretched for countless leagues. 
The passengers were now summoned to take their parting 
look at the land, and the officers were seen noting their 
departures. Just before the day shut in, and ere the islands 
were entirely sunk into the waves, Wilder ascended to an 
upper yard bearing a glass. His gaze towards the haven 
he had left was long, anxious, and occupied. But his 
descent was distinguished by a more quiet eye, and a 
calmer mien. A smile, like that of success, played about 
his lips ; and he gave his orders clearly, and in a more 
cheerful voice. They were obeyed as briskly. The elder 
mariners pointed to the seas, as they cut through them, and 
affirmed that the Caroline had never made such progress. 
The mates cast the log, and nodded their approbation, as 
one announced to the other the unusual speed of the ship. 


Ube IReb 1Rb\>er 


193 


In short, content and hilarity reigned on board ; for it was 
thought that the passage was commenced under favorable 
auspices, and there was the hope of a speedy and a pros- 
perous termination of the run. In the midst of these en- 
couraging omens, the sun dipped into the sea, illumining, as 
it fell, a wide reach of the chill and gloomy element. 
Then the shades of night gathered over the illimitable 

waste. 

*3 




CHAPTER XIV. 

u So foul and fair a day I have not seen.” 

Macbeth. 

T HE first watch of the night brought no change. 

Wilder had joined his passengers, cheerful, and 
with that air of enjoyment which every officer of 
the sea is apt to exhibit, when he has disengaged 
his vessel from the land, and has fairly launched her on the 
trackless and fathomless abyss of the ocean. He no longer 
alluded to the hazards of the passage, but strove, by the 
thousand nameless assiduities which his station enabled him 
to manifest, to expel all recollection of what had passed from 
their minds. Mrs. Wyllys lent herself to his evident efforts 
to remove their apprehensions, and one ignorant of what 
had occurred between them, would have thought that the 
little party around the evening’s repast was a contented and 
unsuspecting group of voyagers, who had commenced their 
enterprise under the happiest auguries. 

Still there was that in the thoughtful eye and clouded 
brow of the governess, as at times she turned her bewil- 
dered look on our adventurer, which denoted a mind far 
from being at ease. She listened to the gay and peculiar, 
because professional, sallies of the young mariner, with 
smiles that were indulgent while they were melancholy, as 
if his youthful spirits, enlivened by touches of a humor that 
was thoroughly and quaintly nautical, recalled familiar but 
sad images to her fancy. Gertrude had less alloy in her 
pleasure. Home, and a beloved and indulgent father were 
before her ; and she felt, while the ship yielded to each fresh 
impulse of the wind, as if another of those weary miles, 
which had so long separated them, was passed. 

194 


Ube IReb IRorer 


195 


During these short but pleasant hours, the mariner, who 
had been so oddly called to the command of the Bristol 
trader, appeared in a new character. Though his conversa- 
tion was characterized by the frank manliness of a seaman, 
it was nevertheless tempered by the delicacy of one whose 
breeding had not been neglected. The beautiful mouth of 
Gertrude often struggled to conceal the smiles which dim- 
pled her cheeks at his sallies, like a soft air ruffling the sur- 
face of some limpid spring ; and once or twice, when the 
humor of Wilder came unexpectedly, and in stronger colors 
than common, across her youthful fancy, she yielded to an 
irresistible merriment. 

One hour of the free intercourse of a ship can do more 
towards softening the cold exterior in which the world en- 
crusts the best of human feelings, than weeks of the un- 
meaning ceremonies of the land. He who has not felt this 
truth, would do well to distrust his own companionable 
qualities. It would seem that man, when he finds himself 
in the solitude of the ocean, most feels his dependency on 
others for happiness. He yields to sentiments with which 
he trifled in the wantonness of security, and is glad to seek 
relief in the sympathies of his kind. A community of haz- 
ard makes a community of interest, whether person or prop- 
erty composes the stake. Perhaps a literal reasoner might 
add that, as each is conscious the condition and fortunes of 
his neighbor are the indexes of his own, they acquire value 
from their affinity to self. If this conclusion be true, Prov- 
idence has happily so constituted some of the species, that 
sordid feeling is too latent to be discovered ; and least of all 
was any one of the three, who passed the first hours of the 
night around the cabin table of the Royal Caroline, to be 
included in this selfish class. The nature of the intercourse 
which had rendered the first hours of their acquaintance so 
singularly equivocal, appeared to be forgotten in the free- 
dom of the moment; or, if it were remembered at all, 
merely served to give the young seaman additional interest 
in the eyes of the females, as much by the mystery of the 
circumstances, as by the concern he had manifested in their 
behalf. 


196 


Ube IReb iRcwer 


The bell had struck eight ; and the hoarse call was heard 
which summoned another set of watchers to the deck, before 
the party was aware of the lateness of the hour. 

“It is the middle watch,” said Wilder, smiling, when he 
observed that Gertrude started at the strange sounds, listen- 
ing like a timid doe that catches the note of the hunter’s 
horn. “We seamen are not always musical, as you may 
judge by the strains of the present spokesman. There are, 
however, ears in the ship to whom his notes are even more 
discordant than to your own.” 

“ You mean the sleepers ? ” said Mrs. Wyllys. 

* * I mean the watch below. There is nothing so sweet 
to the foremast mariner as his sleep; for it is the most 
precarious of all his enjoyments : on the other hand, per- 
haps, it is the most treacherous companion the commander 
knows.” 

“ And why is the rest of the superior so much less grate- 
ful than that of the common man ? ’ ’ 

“ Because he pillows his head on responsibility.” 

“You are young, Mr. Wilder, for a trust like this you 
bear.” 

“ It is a service which makes all prematurely old.” 

“Then why not quit it?” said Gertrude, a little hastily. 

“Quit it!” he replied, gazing at her intently, while he 
suspended his reply. “ It would be like quitting the air I 
breathe.” 

“Have you so long been devoted to your profession?” 
resumed Mrs. Wyllys, bending her thoughtful eye from the 
ingenuous countenance of her pupil, once more towards the 
features of the young man. 

“ I have reason to think I was born on the sea.” 

“ Think ? You surely know your birthplace ? ” 

“ We are all of us dependent on the testimony of others,” 
said Wilder, smiling, “for the account of that important 
event. My earliest recollections are blended with the sight 
of the ocean, and I can hardly say that I am a creature of 
the land at all.” 

“You have, at least, been fortunate in those who have 
had the charge of your education and of your younger days.” 


Zbc IRefc 1Ro\>er 


197 


“I have!” he answered with emphasis. Then shading 
his face an instant with his hands, he arose, and added, with 
a melancholy smile, ‘ ‘ And now to my last duty for the 
twenty-four hours. Have you a disposition to look at the 
night ? So skilful and so stout a sailor should not seek her 
berth, without passing an opinion on the weather.” 

The governess took his arm, and they ascended the stairs 
of the cabin in silence, each finding sufficient employment 
in meditation. She was followed by the more active Ger- 
trude, who joined them on the weather side of the quarter- 
deck. 

The night was misty rather than dark. A full and 
bright moon had arisen : but it pursued its path through the 
heavens, behind a body of dusky clouds, that was much too 
dense for the borrowed rays to penetrate. Here and there 
a straggling gleam appeared to find its way through a cov- 
ering of vapor less dense than the rest, falling upon the 
water like the dim illumination of a distant taper. As the 
wind was fresh and easterly, 1 the sea seemed to throw 
upward from behind its agitated surface more light than it 
received ; long lines of glittering foam following each other, 
and lending a distinctness to the waters, that the heavens 
themselves wanted. The ship was bowed low on its side ; 
and, as it entered each rolling swell, a wide crescent of foam 
was driven ahead, the element appearing to gambol along 
its path. But, though the time was propitious, the wind 
not absolutely adverse, and the heavens rather gloomy than 
threatening, an uncertain (and, to a landsman, it might 
seem an unnatural) light gave a character of the wildest lone- 
liness to the view. 

Gertrude shuddered on reaching the deck, while she mur- 
mured an expression of strange delight. Even Mrs. Wyllys 
gazed upon the dark waves, that were heaving and setting 
in the horizon, around which was shed most of that radiance 

1 The writer will not pretend to give the philosophical reason for 
the phenomenon ; but he thinks that every seaman must have ob- 
served that the sea has more of the peculiar light alluded to in an 
eastern than in a western breeze, especially within the limits of the 
Atlantic. 


Uhc IRefc 1Rov>er 


198 

that seemed so supernatural, with a deep conviction that she 
was now entirely in the hands of the Being who had created 
the waters and the land. But Wilder looked upon the scene 
as one fastens his gaze on a placid sky. To him the view 
possessed neither novelty, nor dread, nor charm. Not so 
with his more youthful and enthusiastic companion. After 
the first sensations of awe had a little subsided, she ex- 
claimed, in the ardor of admiration, — 

“ One such night would repay a month of imprisonment 
in a ship ! You must find great enjoyment in these scenes, 
Mr. Wilder ; you, who have them always at command.” 

‘ ‘ There is pleasure to be found in them without doubt. 
I would that the wind had veered a point or two. I do 
not like the sky, nor yonder misty horizon, nor this breeze 
hanging so dead at east ! ’ ’ 

“The vessel makes great progress,” calmly returned Mrs. 
Wyllys, observing that the young man spoke without con- 
sciousness, and fearing the effect of his words upon the 
mind of her pupil. “If we are going on our course, there 
is the appearance of a quick and prosperous passage. ’ ’ 

“True !” exclaimed Wilder, who had become conscious 
of his indiscretion. “Quite probable, and very true. Mr. 
Baring, the air is getting too heavy for that duck. Hand 
all your top-gallant sails, and haul the ship up closer. 
Should the wind hang here at east-with-southing, we may 
want all the offing we can get.” 

The mate replied in the obedient manner which seamen 
use to their superiors ; and, after scanning the signs of the 
weather for a moment himself, he proceeded to see the order 
executed. While the men were on the yards furling the 
light canvas, the females walked apart, leaving the young 
commander to the uninterrupted discharge of his duty. But 
Wilder, so far from deeming it necessary to lend his atten- 
tion to so ordinary a service, the moment after he had 
spoken, seemed perfectly unconscious that the mandate had 
issued from his mouth. He stood at the precise spot where 
the view of the ocean and the heavens first caught his eye, 
and his gaze still continued fastened on the aspect of the 
two elements. His look was always in the direction of the 


Ube IReb IRover 


199 


wind, which, though far from a gale, frequently fell upon 
the sails in heavy and sullen puffs. After a long examina- 
tion, the young mariner muttered his thoughts to himself, 
and commenced pacing the deck rapidly. Still he would 
make sudden and short pauses, riveting his gaze on the 
point of the compass whence the blasts came, as if he dis- 
trusted the weather, and would fain penetrate the gloom of 
night, in order to relieve some painful doubt. At length 
his step became arrested, in one of those quick turns that he 
made at each end of his narrow walk. Mrs. Wyllys and 
Gertrude stood near at hand, and were enabled to read with 
distinctness the anxious character of his countenance, as his 
eye became suddenly fastened on a distant point of the ocean, 
though in a quarter exactly opposite to that in which his 
former looks had been directed. 

“ Do you see reason to distrust the weather? ” asked the 
governess, when she thought his examination had endured 
long enough to become ominous of evil. 

“One does not look to leeward for the signs of the 
weather, in a breeze like this.” 

“ What is there, that you fasten your eye on so intently ? ” 

Wilder raised his arm, and was about to speak, when the 
limb suddenly fell. 

“ It was delusion ! ” he muttered, turning and pacing the 
deck more rapidly than ever. 

His companions watched the extraordinary, and appar- 
ently unconscious movements of the young commander 
with amazement, and not without a little secret dismay. 
Their own looks wandered over the expanse of troubled 
water to leeward, and nowhere could they see more than 
the tossing element, capped with those ridges of garish foam 
which served only to make the chilly waste more dreary 
and imposing. 

“We see nothing,” said Gertrude, when Wilder again 
stopped to gaze, as before, on the seeming void. 

“Took!” he answered, directing their eyes with his 
finger : “is there nothing there ? ” 

“ Nothing.” 

“ You look into the sea. Here, just where the heavens 


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and the waters meet ; along that streak of misty light, into 
which the waves are tossing themselves like little hillocks. 
There ; now ’t is smooth again, and my eyes did not deceive 
me. By heavens, it is a ship ! ’ ’ 

“Sail, ho!” shouted a voice from a-top. The cry 
sounded, in the ears of our adventurer, like the croaking of 
a sinister spirit. 

“ Whereaway? ” he sternly demanded. 

“ Here on our lee-quarter, sir,” returned the seaman, at 
the top of his voice. “ I make her out a ship close-hauled ; 
but, for an hour past, she has looked more like a mist than 
a vessel. ’ ’ 

“ He is right,” muttered Wilder ; “ and yet ’t is a strange 
thing that a ship should be just there.” 

“ And why stranger than that we are here ? ” 

“Why ! ” said the young man, regarding Mrs. Wyllys, 
who had put this question, with a perfectly unconscious eye, 
“ I say ’t is strange she should be there. I would she were 
anywhere else, or steering northward.” 

“ You give no reason. Are we always to have warnings 
from you, ’ ’ she continued, ‘ ‘ without reasons ? Do you deem 
us so utterly unworthy of a reason ? or do you think us al- 
together incapable of reflection on a subject connected with 
the sea ? You have failed to make the essay, and are too 
quick to decide without it. Try us this once. We may 
possibly deceive your expectations. ’ ’ 

Wilder laughed faintly, and bowed, as if he recollected 
himself. Still he entered into no explanation ; but he turned 
his gaze on the quarter of the ocean where the strange sail 
was said to be. The females followed his example, and al- 
ways with the same want of success. Gertrude expressed 
her disappointment aloud, and her complaints found their 
way to the ears of the young man. 

“ You see the streak of dim light,” he said, again pointing 
across the waste. “ The clouds have lifted a little there, but 
the spray of the sea is floating between us and the opening. 
Her spars look like the delicate work of a spider, against the 
sky ; and yet you see there are all the proportions, with the 
three masts, of a noble ship. ’ 9 


Ube IReb IRovec 


201 


Aided by these minute directions, Gertrude at length 
caught a glimpse of the faint object, and soon succeeded in 
giving the true direction to the look of her governess also. 
Nothing was visible but the dim outline, not unaptly de- 
scribed by Wilder himself as resembling a spider’s web. 

“ It must be a ship ! ” said Mrs. Wyllys ; “but at a vast 
distance.” 

“ Hum ! Would it were farther ! I could wish that ves- 
sel anywhere but there.” 

“And why not there? Have you reason to dread an 
enemy has been waiting for us in this particular spot? ” 

“No; still I like not her position. Would to God she 
were going north ! ’ ’ 

“ It is some vessel from the port of New York, steering to 
his majesty’s islands in the Caribbean Seas ? ” 

“Not so,” said Wilder, shaking his head; “no vessel 
from under the heights of Navesink, could gain that offing 
with a wind like this. ’ ’ 

“It is then some ship going into the same place, or per- 
haps a vessel bound for one of the bays of the middle 
colonies ? ’ ’ 

“ Her road would be too plain to be mistaken. See, the 
stranger is close upon a wind.” 

“ It may be a trader, or a cruiser coming from one of the 
places I have named.” 

‘ ‘ Neither. The wind has had too much northing, the last 
two days, for that.” 

“ It is a vessel that we have overtaken, and which, like 
ourselves, has come out of the waters of Tong Island 
Sound.” 

“That, indeed, is our last hope,” muttered Wilder. 

The governess, who had put the foregoing questions in 
order to extract from the commander of the Caroline the in- 
formation he so pertinaciously withheld, had now exhausted 
all her own knowledge on the subject, and was compelled to 
await his further pleasure in the matter, or resort to the less 
equivocal means of direct interrogation. But the busy state 
of Wilder’s thoughts left her no immediate opportunity to 
pursue the subject. He soon summoned the officer of the 


202 


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watch to his councils, and they consulted together apart, for 
many minutes. The hardy, but far from quick-witted sea- 
man who filled the second station in the ship, saw nothing 
so remarkable in the appearance of a strange sail in the 
precise spot where the dim and nearly aerial image of the 
unknown vessel was still visible ; nor did he hesitate to pro- 
nounce her some honest trader, bent, like themselves, on her 
purpose of lawful commerce. His commander thought other- 
wise, as will appear by the short dialogue that passed betweeii 
them. 

“ Is it not extraordinary that she should be just there ? ” 
demanded Wilder, after each, in turn, had made a closer 
examination of the faint object, by the aid of an excellent 
night-glass. 

“She would certainly be better off here,” returned the 
literal seaman, who had an eye only for the nautical situa- 
tion of the stranger ; “we should be none the worse for be- 
ing a dozen leagues more to the eastward, ourselves. If the 
wind holds here at east-by-south-half-south, we shall have 
need of all that offing. I got jammed once between Hatteras 
and the Gulf — ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Do you not perceive that she is where no vessel could or 
ought to be, unless she has run exactly the same course with 
ourselves ? ” interrupted Wilder. “ Nothing, from any har- 
bor south of New York, could have such northing, as the wind 
has held ; while nothing from the colony of York would 
stand on this tack, if bound east ; or would be there, if going 
southward. ’ ’ 

The plain-going ideas of the honest mate were open to a 
reasoning which the reader may find a little obscure ; for his 
mind contained a sort of chart of the ocean, to which he 
could at any time refer, with a proper discrimination between 
the various winds and all the different points of the compass. 
When properly directed, he was not slow to see the probable 
justice of his young commander’s inferences ; and then won- 
der, in its turn, began to take possession of his more obtuse 
faculties. 

“ It is downright unnatural, truly, that the fellow should 
be just there ! ” he replied, shaking his head, but meaning 


Ube IReb IRover 


203 


no more than that it was entirely out of the order of nautical 
propriety: “I see the reason of what you say, Captain 
Wilder ; and I don’t know how to explain it. It is a ship 
to a moral certainty ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Of that there is no doubt. But a ship most strangely 
placed ! ” 

“I doubled the Good Hope in the year ’46,’* continued 
the other, “and we saw a vessel lying, as it might be, here 
on our weather-bow — which is just opposite to this fellow, 
since he is on our lee-quarter but there I saw a ship stand- 
ing for an hour across our fore-foot, and yet though we 
set the azimuth, not a degree did he budge, starboard or lar- 
board, during all that time, which, as it was heavy weather, 
was, to say the least, something out of the common order.” 

“It was remarkable ! ” returned Wilder, with an air so 
vacant, as to prove that he rather communed with himself 
than attended to his companion. 

“There are mariners who say that the Flying Dutch- 
man cruises off that Cape, and that he often gets on the 
weather side of a stranger, and bears down upon him like a 
ship about to lay him aboard. Many is the king’s cruiser, as 
they say, that has turned her hands up from a sweet sleep, 
when the lookouts have seen a double-decker come down 
in the night, with ports up, and batteries lighted ; but then 
this can’t be any such a craft as the Dutchman, since she is, 
at the most, no more than a large sloop of war, if a cruiser 
at all.” 

“ No,” said Wilder, “ this can never be the Dutchman.” 

“Yon vessel shows no lights ; and, for that matter, she 
has such a misty look, that one might well question its be- 
ing a ship at all. Then, again, the Dutchman is always 
seen to windward, and the strange sail we have here lies 
broad upon our lee- quarter ! ” 

“ It is no Dutchman,” said Wilder, drawing a long 
breath, like a man awaking from a trance. “ Main-top- 
mast cross-trees, there ! ” 

The man stationed aloft answered the hail in the cus- 
tomary manner, the short conversation that succeeded being 
necessarily maintained in shouts rather than in speeches. 


204 


Ube 1 ftefc IRcwet 


“How long have you seen the stranger?” was the first 
demand of Wilder. 

“ I have just come aloft, sir ; but the man I relieved tells 
me more than an hour. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ And has the man you relieved come down ? or who is 
that I see sitting on the lee side of the mast-head ? ’ ’ 

“ ’Tis Bob Brace, sir ; who says he cannot sleep, and so 
he stays upon the yard to keep me company.” 

‘ ‘ Send the man down. I would speak to him. ’ ’ 

While the wakeful seaman was descending the rigging, 
the two officers continued silent, finding sufficient occupa- 
tion in musing on what had already passed. 

‘ ‘ Why are you not in your hammock ? ’ ’ said Wilder, a 
little sternly, to the man who, in obedience to his order, 
had descended to the quarter-deck. 

‘ ‘ I am not sleep-bound, your honor, and I had a mind to 
pass another hour aloft. ’ ’ 

“ And why are you, who have two night-watches to keep 
already, so willing to enlist in a third ? ” 

“ To own the truth, sir, my mind has been a little mis- 
giving about this passage, since the moment we lifted our 
anchor.” 

Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude, who were auditors, insensi- 
bly drew nigher to listen, with a species of interest which 
betrayed itself by the thrilling of nerves, and an accelerated 
movement of the pulse. 

‘ ‘ And you have your doubts, sir ! ” exclaimed the cap- 
tain, in a tone of slight contempt. “Pray, may I ask what 
you have seen on board here, to make you distrust the 
ship?” 

“ No harm in asking, your honor,” returned the seaman, 
crushing the hat he held between two hands that had a 
gripe like a couple of vices, “ and so I hope there is none 
in answering. I pulled an oar in the boat after the old man 
this morning, and I cannot say I liked the manner in which 
he got from the chase. Then, there is something in the ship 
to leeward that comes athwart my fancy like a drag, and I 
confess, your honor, and I should make but little headway 
in a nap, though I should try the swing of a hammock.” 


XTbe IReb IRcwer 


205 


“ How long is it since you made out the ship to lee- 
ward ? ” 

* ‘ I will not swear that a real living ship has been made 
out at all, sir. Something I did see, just before the bell 
struck seven, and there it is, just as clear and just as dim, 
to be seen now, by them that have good eyes.” 

‘ ‘And how did she bear when you first saw her ? ” 

‘‘Two or three points more upon the beam than now.” 

‘‘Then we are passing her! ” exclaimed Wilder, with a 
pleasure too evident to be concealed. 

“ No, your honor, no. You forget, sir, the ship has come 
closer to the wind since the middle watch was set.” 

‘‘True,” returned his young commander, in disappoint- 
ment; “ true, very true; too true. And her bearing has 
not changed since you first made her out ? ” 

“ Not by compass, sir. It is a quick boat, that, or it 
would never hold such way with the Royal Caroline, and 
that too upon a stiffened bowline, which everybody knows 
is the real play of this ship.” 

‘ ‘ Go, get you to your hammock. In the morning we may 
have a better look at the fellow.” 

“ And — you hear me, sir,” added the attentive mate, 
“do not keep the men’s eyes open below, with a tale as 
long as the short cable, but take your own natural rest, and 
leave all others, that have clear consciences, to do the same.” 

“ Mr. Earing,” said Wilder, as the seaman reluctantly 
proceeded to his place of rest, ‘ ‘ we will bring the ship upon 
the other tack, and get more easting while the land is so far 
from us. This course will be setting us upon Hatteras. 
Besides — ’ ’ 

“Yes, sir,” the mate replied, observing his superior to 
hesitate, “ as you were saying, — besides, no one can fore- 
tell the length of a gale, nor the real quarter from which it 
may come.” 

“ Precisely. No one can answer for the weather. The 
men are scarcely in their hammocks ; turn them up at once, 
sir, before their eyes are heavy, and we will get the ship’s 
head the other way.” 

The mate instantly sounded the well-known cry which 


20 6 


Ube IReb IRover 


summoned the watch below to the assistance of their ship- 
mates on deck. Tittle delay occurred, and not a word was 
uttered, but the short, authoritative mandates which Wilder 
saw fit to deliver from his own lips. No longer pressed up 
against the wind, the ship, obedient to her helm, gracefully 
began to incline her head from the waves, and to bring the 
wind abeam. Then, instead of breasting and mounting the 
endless hillocks, like a being that toiled heavily along its 
path, she fell into the trough of the sea, from which she 
issued like a courser, who having conquered an ascent, shoots 
along the track with redoubled velocity. For an instant 
the wind appeared to lull, though the wide ridge of foam 
which rolled along on each side of the vessel’s bows, 
sufficiently proclaimed that she was skimming before it. In 
another moment, the tall spars begun to incline again to the 
west, and the vessel came swooping up to the wind, until 
her plunges and shocks against the seas were renewed as 
violently as before. When every yard and sheet were 
properly trimmed to meet the new position of the vessel, 
Wilder turned to get a glimpse of the stranger. A minute 
was lost in ascertaining the precise spot where he ought to 
appear ; for, in such a chaos of water, and with no guide 
but the judgment, the eye was apt to deceive itself, by re- 
ferring to the nearer and more familiar objects by which 
the spectator was surrounded. 

“ The stranger has vanished ! ” said Earing, with a voice 
in which mental relief and distrust were oddly manifesting 
themselves. 

‘ ‘ He should indeed be on this quarter ; but I see him 
not ! ” 

“Ay, ay, sir; this is the way that the midnight cruiser 
off the Hope is said to come and go. There are men who 
have seen that vessel shut in by a fog, in as fine a starlight 
night as was ever met in a southern latitude. But then 
this cannot be the Dutchman, since it is so many long 
leagues from the pitch of the Cape to the coast of North 
America.” 

“Here he lies; and, by heaven, he has already gone 
about ! ” 


Ube IReb iRover 


207 


The truth of what Wilder affirmed was sufficiently evi- 
dent to the eye of a seaman. The same diminutive and 
misty tracery, as before, was to be seen on the light back- 
ground of the horizon, looking not unlike the faintest shad- 
ows cast upon some brighter surface by the deception of 
the phantasmagoria. But to the mariners, who so well 
knew how to distinguish between the different lines of her 
masts, it was very evident that her course had been sud- 
denly and dexterously changed, and that she was now steer- 
ing no longer to the south and west, but, like themselves, 
holding her way towards the northeast, or broadly off 
towards the middle of the Atlantic. The fact appeared to 
make a sensible impression on them all ; though probably, 
had their reasons been sifted, they would have been found 
to be entirely different. 

* ‘ That fellow has truly tacked ! ’ ’ said Earing, after a 
long meditative pause, and with a voice in which awe 
was beginning to get the ascendency of doubt. ‘ ‘ Tong as 
I have followed the sea, have I never before seen a vessel 
tack against such a head-beating sea. He must have been 
all shaking in the wind, when we gave him the last look, 
or we should have lost sight of him.” 

“A lively and quick working vessel might doit,” said 
Wilder; ‘ ‘ especially if strong-handed.” 

“ Ay, the hand of Beelzebub is always strong ; and a light 
job would he make of even a more difficult manoeuvre ! ” 

“Mr. Earing,” interrupted Wilder, “we will pack upon 
the Caroline, and try our sailing with this stranger. Get 
the main tack aboard, and set the top-gallant sail.” 

The slow-minded mate would have remonstrated against 
the order, had he dared ; but there was that in the calm 
manner of his young commander, which admonished him 
of the hazard. He was not wrong, however, in consider- 
ing the duty he was now to perform as one that was not 
entirely free from risk. The ship was already moving 
under quite as much canvas as he deemed it prudent to 
show at such an hour, and with so many threatening symp- 
toms of heavier weather hanging about the horizon. The 
necessary orders were, however, repeated as promptly as 


208 


Ube IReb IRover 


they had been given. The seamen had already begun to 
consider the stranger, and to converse among themselves 
concerning his appearance and situation ; and they obeyed 
with an alacrity that might perhaps have been traced to a 
secret but common wish to escape from his vicinity. The 
sails were successively and speedily set ; and then each man 
folded his arms, and stood gazing steadily and intently at 
the shadowy object to leeward, in order to witness the effect 
of the change. 

The Royal Caroline seemed, like her crew, sensible of 
the necessity of increasing her speed. As she felt the 
pressure of the broad sheets of canvas that had just been 
distended, the ship bowed lower, appearing to recline on 
the bed of water which rose under her lee nearly to the 
scuppers. On the other side, the dark planks and polished 
copper lay bare for many feet, though often washed by the 
waves that came sweeping along her length, green and 
angrily, still capped, as usual, with crests of lucid foam. 
The shocks, as the vessel tilted against the billows, were 
becoming every moment more severe; and, from each 
encounter, a bright cloud of spray arose, which either fell 
glittering on the deck, or drove, in brilliant mist, across the 
rolling water, far to leeward. 

Wilder long watched the ship with a clouded brow, but 
with the steady intelligence of a seaman. Once or twice, 
when she trembled, and appeared to stop in her violent 
encounter with a wave as suddenly as if she had struck a 
rock, his lips severed, and he was about to give the order to 
reduce the sail ; but a glance at the misty-looking image in 
the western horizon caused him to change his purpose. 
Tike a desperate adventurer, who had cast his fortunes on 
some hazardous experiment, he appeared to wait the issue 
with a resolution as haughty as it was unconquerable. 

“The top-gallant is bending like a whip,” muttered the 
careful Taring, at his elbow. 

“Tet it go; we have spare spars enough to put in its 
place.” 

I have always found the Caroline leaky, after she has 
been strained by driving her against the sea.” 


Zbc IReb IRover 


209 


“We have our pumps.” 

“ True, sir ; but in my poor judgment, it is idle to think 
of outsailing a craft that the devil commands, if he does not 
altogether handle. ’ ’ 

“ One will never know that, Mr. Earing, till he tries.” 

“We gave the Dutchman a chance of that sort; and, I 
must say, we not only had the most canvas spread, but 
much the best of the wind ; and what good did it do ? there 
he lay, under his three top- sails, driver, and jib ; and we, 
with studding-sails alow and aloft, could n’t alter his bearing 
a foot.” 

“ The Dutchman is never seen in a northern latitude.” 

“Well, I cannot say he is,” returned Earing, in a sort of 
compelled resignation ; ‘ ‘ but he who has put that flyer off 
the Cape may have found the cruise so profitable, as to wish 
to send another ship into these seas.” 

Wilder made no reply. He had either humored the 
superstitious apprehension of his mate enough, or his mind 
was too intent on its principal object to dwell longer on a 
foreign subject. 

Notwithstanding the seas that met her advance, in such 
quick succession as greatly to retard her progress, the 
Bristol trader had soon toiled her way through a league of 
the troubled element. At every plunge she took, the bows 
divided a mass of water that appeared to be fast getting 
more vast and more violent, and more than once the strug- 
gling hull was nearly buried forward, in some wave which 
it had equal difficulty in mounting or penetrating. 

The mariners narrowly watched the smallest movements 
of their vessel. Not a man left her deck for hours. The 
superstitious awe, which had taken such deep hold of the 
untutored faculties of the chief mate, had not been slow in 
extending its influence to the meanest of her crew. Even 
the accident which had befallen her former commander, and 
the sudden and mysterious manner in which the young 
officer who now trod the quarter-deck, so singularly firm 
and calm under circumstances deemed so imposing, had 
their influence in heightening the wild impression. The 
impunity with which the Caroline bore such a press of can- 
14 


210 


Ube IReb iRom* 


vas, under the circumstances in which she was placed, 
added to their kindling admiration ; and, ere Wilder had 
determined in his own mind on the powers of his ship, in 
comparison with those of the vessel that so strangely hung 
in the horizon, he was himself becoming the subject of 
unnatural and revolting suspicions to his own crew. 




CHAPTER XV. 

“ I’ the name of truth 
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed 
Which outwardly ye show ? ” 

Macbeth. 

S UPERSTITION is a quality that seems indigenous 
to the ocean. Few common mariners are exempt 
from its influence, in a greater or less degree ; 
though it is found to exist, among the seamen of 
different people, in forms that are tempered by their respec- 
tive national habits and peculiar opinions. The sailor of the 
Baltic has his secret rites, and his manner of propitiating the 
gods of the wind ; the Mediterranean mariner tears his hair 
and kneels before the shrine of some impotent saint, when 
his own hand might better do the service he implores ; while 
the more skilful Englishman sees the spirits of the dead in 
the storm, and hears the cries of a lost messmate in the gusts 
that sweep the waste he navigates. Even the better in- 
structed and still more reasoning American has not been 
able to shake off entirely the secret influence of a sentiment 
that seems to be the concomitant of his condition. 

There is a majesty in the might of the great deep, that 
has a tendency to keep open the avenues of that dependent 
credulity which more or less besets the mind of every man, 
however he may have fortified his intellect by thought. 
With the firmament above him, and wandering on an inter- 
minable waste of water, the less gifted seaman is tempted, 
at every step of his pilgrimage, to seek the relief of some 
propitious omen. The few which are supported by scien- 
tific causes, give support to the many that have their origin 


211 


212 


xrbe IRefc IRcwer 


only in his own excited and doubting fancy. The gambols 
of the dolphin, the earnest and busy passage of the porpoise, 
the ponderous sporting of the unwieldy whale, and the 
screams of the marine birds, have all, like the signs of the 
ancient soothsayers, their attendant consequences of good or 
evil. The confusion between things which are explicable, 
and things which are not, gradually brings the mind of the 
mariner to a state in which any exciting and unnatural 
sentiment is welcome, if it be for no other reason than that, 
like the vast element on which he passes his life, it bears 
the impression of what is thought a supernatural, because it 
is an incomprehensible cause. 

The crew of the Royal Caroline were all from that dis- 
tant island that has been, and still continues to be, the hive 
of nations, which are probably fated to carry her name to a 
time when the site of her own fallen power shall be sought 
as a curiosity, like the remains of a city in a desert. 

The whole events of the day had a tendency to arouse 
the latent superstition of these men. It has already been 
said, that the calamity which had befallen their former 
commander, and the manner in which a stranger had suc- 
ceeded to his authority, had their influence in increasing 
their disposition to doubt. The sail to leeward appeared 
most inopportunely for the character of our adventurer, 
who had not yet enjoyed a fitting opportunity to secure 
the confidence of his inferiors, before such untoward cir- 
cumstances occurred as threatened to deprive him of it 
forever. 

There has existed but one occasion for introducing to 
the reader the mate who filled the station in the ship next 
to that of Earing. He was called Knighthead ; a name 
that was, in sound at least, indicative of a certain misty 
obscurity that beset his superior member. The qualities 
of his mind may be appreciated by the few reflections he 
saw fit to make on the escape of the old mariner whom 
Wilder had intended to punish. As this individual was but 
one degree removed from the common men in situation, he 
was much more nearly associated with them in habits and 
opinions than Earing. His influence among them was 


Ube IReb IRover 


213 


accordingly much greater than that of his brother mate, 
while his authority was less, and his sentiments were very 
generally received as the rule by which all things, that did 
not actually depend on the mere right to command, were to 
be judged. 

After the ship had been wore, and during the time that 
Wilder, with a view to lose sight of his unwelcome neigh- 
bor, was endeavoring to urge her through the seas in the 
manner already described, this stubborn and mystified tar 
remained in the waist of the vessel, surrounded by a few 
of the older and more experienced seamen, holding converse 
on the remarkable appearance of the phantom to leeward, 
and of the extraordinary manner in which their unknown 
officer saw fit to attest the enduring qualities of their own 
vessel. We shall commence our relation of the dialogue 
at a point where Knighthead saw fit to discontinue his dis- 
tant innuendoes, in order to deal more directly with the 
subject he had under discussion. 

‘ ‘ I have heard it said, by older seafaring men than any 
in this ship,” he continued, “ that the devil has been known 
to send one of his mates aboard a lawful trader, to lead her 
astray among shoals and quicksands, in order that he might 
make a wreck, and get his share of the salvage among the 
souls of the people. What man can say who gets into the 
cabin, when an unknown name stands first in the shipping- 
list of a vessel ? * ’ 

‘ * The stranger is shut in by a cloud ! ’ ’ exclaimed one of 
the mariners, who, while he listened to the philosophy of 
his officer, still kept an eye riveted on the mysterious object 
to leeward. 

“Ay, ay; it would occasion no surprise to me to see 
that craft steering into the moon ! Luck is like a fly-block 
and its yard : when one goes up, the other comes down. 
They say the red-coats ashore have had their turn of for- 
tune, and it is time we honest seamen look out for our 
squalls. I have doubled the Horn, brothers, in a king’s 
ship, and I have seen the bright cloud that never sets, and 
I have held a living corposant in my own hand. But these 
are things which any man may look on, who will go upon a 


214 


Uhc IRefc IRovet 


yard in a gale, or ship aboard a South-seaman ; still, I pro- 
nounce it uncommon for a vessel to see her shadow in the 
haze, as we have ours at this moment ; there it comes 
again ! — hereaway, between the after-shroud and the back- 
stay — or for a trader to carry sail in a fashion that would 
make every knee in a bomb-ketch work like a tooth-brush 
fiddling across a passenger’s mouth, after he has had a smart 
bout with the sea-sickness.” 

“ And yet the lad holds the ship in hand,” said the oldest 
of all the seamen, who kept his gaze fastened on the pro- 
ceedings of Wilder : “ he is driving her through it in a mad 
manner, I will allow ; but yet, so far, he has not parted a 
yarn.” 

“ Yarns ! ” repeated the mate, in a tone of contempt ; 

‘ * what signify yams, when the whole cable is to snap, and 
in such a fashion as to leave no hope for the anchor, except 
in a buoy rope ? Hark ye, old Bill ; the devil never fin- 
ishes his jobs by halves. What is to happen will happen 
bodily ; and no easing-off, as if you were lowering the cap- 
tain’s lady into a boat, and he on deck to see fair play.” 

“ Mr. Knighthead knows how to keep a ship’s reckoning 
in all weathers ! ” said another, whose manner sufficiently 
announced the dependence he himself placed on the capacity 
of the second mate. 

‘ ‘ And no credit to me for the same. I have seen all 
services, and handled every rig, from a lugger to a double- 
decker ! Few men can say more in their own favor than 
myself ; for the little I know has been got by much hard- 
ship, and small schooling. But what matters information, 
or even seamanship, against witchcraft, or the workings of 
one whom I don’t choose to name, seeing there is no use 
in offending any gentleman unnecessarily ? I say, brothers, 
that this ship is packed upon in a fashion that no prudent 
seaman ought to, or would, allow.” 

A common murmur announced that most, if not all, of 
his hearers were of the same mind. 

“ Fet us examine calmly and reasonably, and in a man- 
ner becoming enlightened Englishmen, into the whole state 
of the case,” the mate continued, casting an eye obliquely 


Ube IReb 1Rox>er 


215 


over his shoulder, to make sure that the individual of whose 
displeasure he stood in so salutary awe was not actually 
at his elbow. “We are all of us, to a man, native-born 
islanders, without a drop of foreign blood among us ; not 
so much as a Scotchman or an Irishman in the ship. Let 
us therefore look into the philosophy of this affair, with the 
j udgment which becomes our breeding. In the first place, 
here is honest Nicholas Nichols slips from this here water- 
cask, and breaks me a leg ! Now, brothers, I ’ ve known men 
to fall from tops and yards, and lighter damage done. But 
what matters it, to a certain person, how far he throws his 
man, since he has only to lift a finger to get us all hanged ? 
Then comes me aboard here a stranger, with a look of the 
colonies about him, and none of your plain-dealing, out-and- 
out, smooth English faces, such as a man can cover with 
the flat of his hand — ’ ’ 

“ The lad is well enough to the eye,” interrupted the old 
mariner. 

‘ ‘ Ay, therein lies the whole deviltry of this matter ! 
He is good-looking, I grant ye ; but it is not such good- 
looking, as an Englishman loves. There is a meaning 
about him that I don’t like ; I never likes too much mean- 
ing in a man’s countenance, seeing that it is not always 
easy to understand what he would be doing. Then, this 
stranger gets to be master of the ship, or, what is the same 
thing, next to master ; while he who should be on deck giving 
his orders in a time like this, is lying in his berth unable to 
tack himself, much less to put the vessel about ; and yet no 
man can say how the thing came to pass.” 

“ He drove a bargain with the consignee for the station, 
and right glad did the cunning merchant seem to get so 
tight a youth to take charge of the Caroline.” 

* ‘ A merchant, after all, like the rest of us, is made of 
nothing better than clay ; and, what is worse, it is seldom 
that, in putting him together, he is dampened with salt 
water. Many is the trader that has doused his spectacles, 
and shut his account-books, to step aside to overreach his 
neighbor, and then come back to find that he has over- 
reached himself. Mr. Bale no doubt thought he was doing 


21 6 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


the clever thing for the owners, when he shipped this Mr. 
Wilder ; but then, perhaps he did not know that the ves- 
sel was sold to — It becomes a plain-going seaman to have 
a respect for all he sails under ; so I will not, unnecessarily, 
name the person who, I believe, has got, whether he came 
by it in a fair purchase or not, no small right in this vessel.” 

‘ ‘ I have never seen a ship got out of irons more hand- 
somely than he handled the Caroline this very morning.” 

Knighthead indulged in a low, but what to his listeners 
appeared to be an exceedingly meaning laugh. 

“ When a ship has a certain sort of captain, one is not to 
be surprised at anything,” he answered, the instant his 
merriment ceased. “For my own part, I shipped to go 
from Bristol to the Carolinas and Jamaica, touching at 
Newport out and home ; and I will say, boldly, I have no 
wish to go anywhere else. As to backing the Caroline 
from her awkward berth alongside the slaver, why, it was 
well done ; too well for so young a mariner. Had I done 
the thing myself, it could not have been better. But what 
think you, brothers, of the old man in the skiff? There was 
a chase, and an escape, such as few old sea-dogs have the 
fortune to behold ! I have heard of a smuggler that was 
chased a hundred times by his majesty’s cutters, in the 
chops of the Channel, and which always had a fog handy 
to run into, but from which no man could truly say he 
ever saw her come out again ! This skiff may have plied 
between the land and that Guernsey man, for anything I 
know to the contrary ; but it is not a boat I wish to pull 
a scull in.” 

“That was a remarkable flight!” exclaimed the elder 
seaman, whose faith in the character of our adventurer 
began to give way gradually, before such an accumulation 
of testimony. 

“ I call it so ; though other men may possibly know 
better than I, who have only followed the water five-and- 
thirty years. Then, here is the sea getting up in an unac- 
countable manner ! and look at these rags of clouds which 
darken the heavens ; and yet there is light enough, coming 
from the ocean, for a good scholar to read by ! ” 


XTbe iReb iRovec 


217 


“I’ve often seen the weather as it is now.” 

“Ay, who has not? It is seldom that any man, let him 
come from what part he will, makes his first voyage as 
captain. Eet who will be out to-night upon the water, I ’ll 
en g a ge he has been there before. I have seen worse- 
looking skies, and even worse-looking water than this ; but 
I never knew any good come of either. The night I was 
wrecked in the bay of—’ ’ 

‘ ‘ In the waist there ! ’ ’ cried Wilder. 

Had a warning voice arisen from the turbulent and rush- 
ing ocean itself, it would not have sounded more alarming 
in the startled ears of the conscious seamen, than this 
sudden hail. Their young commander found it necessary 
to repeat it, before even Knighthead, the proper and official 
spokesman, could muster resolution to answer. 

“Get the fore-top-gallant-sail on the ship, sir,” continued 
Wilder, when the customary reply let him know that he 
had been heard. 

The mate and his companions regarded each other for a 
moment, in dull admiration ; and many a melancholy shake 
of the head was exchanged, before one of the party threw 
himself into the weather-rigging, proceeding aloft with a 
doubting mind, in order to loosen the sail in question. 

There was certainly enough, in the desperate manner 
with which Wilder pressed the canvas on the vessel, to 
excite distrust, either of his intentions or judgment, in the 
opinions of men less influenced by superstition than those it 
was now his lot to command. It had long been apparent 
to Earing, and his more ignorant, and consequently more 
obstinate brother officer, that their young superior had the 
same desire to escape from the spectral-looking ship, which 
so strangely followed their movements, as they had them- 
selves. They only differed in the mode ; but this differ- 
ence was so very material that the two mates consulted 
together apart, and then Earing, something stimulated by 
the hardy opinion of his coadjutor, approached his com- 
mander with the determination of delivering the results of 
their united judgments, with the directness which he 
thought the occasion now demanded. But there was that 


XTbe IReb IRover 


ti8 


in the steady eye and calm mien of Wilder, that caused him 
to touch on the dangerous subject with a discretion and 
circumlocution that were a little remarkable for the indi- 
vidual. He stood watching the effect of the sail recently 
spread, for several minutes, before he even presumed to open 
his mouth. But a terrible encounter, between the vessel 
and a wave that lifted its angry crest, apparently some dozen 
feet above the approaching bows, gave him courage to pro- 
ceed, by admonishing him afresh of the danger of continu- 
ing silent. 

“ I do not see that we drop the stranger, though the ship 
is wallowing through the water so heavily,” he commenced, 
determined to be as circumspect as possible in his advances. 

Wilder bent another of his frequent glances on the misty 
object in the horizon, and then turned his frowning eye 
towards the point whence the wind proceeded, as if he 
would invite its heaviest blasts; he, however, made no 
answer. 

“We have ever found the crew discontented at the 
pumps, sir, ’ ’ resumed the other, after a sufficient pause for 
the reply he in vain expected : “I need not tell an officer 
who knows his duty so well, that seamen rarely love their 
pumps.” 

“Whatever I may find necessary to order, Mr. Earing, 
this ship’s company will find it necessary to execute.” 

There was a settled air of command in the manner with 
which this tardy answer was given, that did not fail of its 
effect. Earing recoiled a step submissively, affecting to be 
lost in consulting the driving masses of clouds ; then, sum- 
moning his resolution, he attempted to renew the attack in 
a different quarter. 

“ Is it your deliberate opinion, Captain Wilder,” he said, 
using the title to which the claim of our adventurer might 
well be questioned, with a view to propitiate him, “is it 
then your deliberate opinion, that the Royal Caroline can, 
by any human means, be made to drop yonder vessel ? ’ ’ 

“ I fear not,” returned the young man, drawing a breath 
so long, that all his secret concern seemed struggling in his 
breast for utterance. 


Ube iReb IRovec 


219 


“ And, sir, with proper submission to your better education 
and authority in this ship, I know not. I have often seen 
these matches tried in my time ; and well do I know that 
nothing is gained by straining a vessel with the hope of 
getting to windward of one of these flyers ! ” 

‘ ‘ Take the glass, Earing, and tell me under what canvas 
the stranger is going, and what you think his distance may 
be,” said Wilder, without appearing to advert at all to what 
the other had just observed. 

The honest and really well-meaning mate deposited his 
hat on the quarter-deck, and did as desired. When his look 
had been long, grave, and deeply absorbed, he closed the 
glass with the palm of his broad hand, and replied in the 
manner of one whose opinion was sufficiently matured, — 

“ If yonder sail had been built and fitted like other craft,” 
he said, “ I should not be backward in pronouncing her a 
full-rigged ship, under the three single-reefed topsails, courses, 
spanker, and jib.” 

“ Has she no more ? ” 

“ To that I would qualify, provided an opportunity were 
given me to make sure that she is, in all respects, like other 
vessels. ’ * 

“ And yet, Earing, with all this press of canvas, by the 
compass we have not left her a foot.” 

“ Eord, sir,” returned the mate, shaking his head like one 
who was well convinced of the folly of such efforts, “ if you 
were to split every cloth in the main-course, you will never 
alter the bearings of that craft an inch, till the sun shall rise ! 
Then, indeed, such as have eyes that are good enough, 
might perhaps see her sailing about among the clouds ; 
though it has never been my fortune, be it bad or be it good, 
to fall in with one of these cruisers after the day has fairly 
dawned.” 

“And the distance?” said Wilder; “you have not yet 
spoken of her distance.” 

“ That is much as people choose to measure. She may 
be here, nigh enough to toss a biscuit into our tops ; or she 
may be there, where she seems to be, hull down in the 
horizon.” 


220 


Ube IReb IRover 


“ But, if where she seems to be ? ” 

‘ ‘ Why, she seems to be a vessel of about six hundred 
tons, and, judging from appearances only, a man might be 
tempted to say she was a couple of leagues, more or less, 
under our lee.” 

“ I put her at the same ! Six miles to windward is not a 
little advantage in a hard chase. By heavens, Baring, I ’ll 
drive the Caroline out of water, but I ’ll leave him ! ” 

“ That might be done, if the ship had wings like a curlew, 
or a sea-gull ; but, as it is, I think we are more likely to 
drive her under. ” 

“ She bears her canvas well, so far. You know not what 
the boat can do when urged.” 

“ I have seen her sailed in all weathers, Captain Wilder, 
but — ” 

His mouth was suddenly closed. A vast block wave 
reared itself between the ship and the eastern horizon, and 
came rolling onward, seeming to threaten to engulf all 
before it. Even Wilder watched the .shock with breathless 
anxiety, conscious, for the moment, that he had exceeded 
the bounds of sound discretion in urging his ship so power- 
fully against such a mass of water. Luckily the sea broke 
a few fathoms from the bows of the Caroline, sending its 
surge in a flood of foam upon her decks. For half a minute 
the forward part of the vessel disappeared, as if, unable to 
mount the swell, it were striving to go through it, and then 
she heavily emerged, gemmed with a million of the scintil- 
lating insects of the ocean. The ship stopped, trembling in 
every joint of her massive and powerful frame, like some af- 
frighted courser ; and, when she resumed her course, it was 
with a moderation that appeared to warn those who gov- 
erned her movements of their indiscretion. 

Baring faced his commander in silence, perfectly conscious 
that nothing he could utter contained an argument like this. 
The seamen no longer hesitated to mutter their disapproba- 
tion aloud, and many a prophetic opinion was ventured con- 
cerning the consequences of such reckless risks. To all this 
Wilder turned an insensible ear. Firm in his secret pur- 
pose, he would have braved a greater hazard to accomplish 


T£be 1Ret> IRorer 


221 


his object. But a distinct though smothered shriek, from 
the stern of the vessel, reminded him of the fears of others. 
Turning quickly on his heel, he approached the still tremb- 
ling Gertrude and her governess, who had both been, 
throughout the whole of these long and tedious hours, 
unobtrusive, but deeply interested, observers of his smallest 
movements. 

The vessel bore that shock so well, I have great reli- 
ance on her powers,” he said in a soothing voice, but with 
words that were intended to lull her into a blind security. 
“ With a firm ship, a thorough seaman is never at a loss.” 

“Mr. Wilder,” returned the governess, “I have seen 
much of this terrible element on which you live. It is vain 
to think of deceiving me. I know that you are urging the 
vessel beyond what is usual. Have you sufficient motive 
for this hardihood ? ” 

“ Madam, — I have ! ” 

And is it, like so many of your motives, to continue 
locked forever in your own breast? or may we, who are 
equal participators in its consequences, claim to share equally 
in the reason ? ’ ’ 

“Since you know so much of the profession,” returned 
the young man, slightly laughing, but in a way that ren- 
dered what he had said more alarming by the sounds pro- 
duced in the unnatural effort, “you need not be told, that, 
in order to get a ship to windward, it is necessary to show 
her canvas. ’ ’ 

“You can, at least, answer one of my questions more 
directly. Is this wind sufficiently favorable to pass the dan- 
gerous shoals of the Hatteras ? 

“ I doubt it.” 

“ Then, why not return to the place whence we came? ” 

“ Will you consent to that?” demanded the youth, with 
the swiftness of thought. 

“ I would go to my father,” said Gertrude, with a rapid- 
ity so nearly resembling his own, that the ardent girl ap- 
peared to want breath to utter the little she said. 

“ And I am willing, Mr. Wilder, to abandon the ship 
entirely,” calmly resumed the governess. “ I require no 


222 


Ube IRefc IRover 


explanation of all your mysterious warnings : restore us to 
our friends in Newport, and no further questions shall ever 
be asked.” 

“ It might be done,” muttered our adventurer ; “it might 
be done ! A few busy hours would do it, with this wind. 
Mr. Earing ! ” 

The mate was instantly at his elbow. Wilder pointed 
to the dim object to leeward ; and handing him the glass, 
desired that he would take another view. Each again 
looked, in turn, long and closely. 

“He shows no more sail ! ” said the commander impa- 
tiently, when his own prolonged gaze was ended. 

“Not a cloth, sir. But what matters it to such a craft, 
how much canvas is spread, or how the wind blows ? ” 

“ Earing, I think there is too much southing in this 
breeze ; and there is more brewing in yonder streak of 
dusky clouds on our beam. Eet the ship fall off a couple 
of points or more, and take the strain off the spars by a 
pull upon the weather-braces. ’ ’ 

The simple-minded mate heard the order with an aston- 
ishment he did not care to conceal. There needed no ex- 
planation to teach one of his experience that the effect 
would be to go over the same track they had just passed ; 
and that it was, in substance, abandoning the objects of the 
voyage. He presumed to defer his compliance in order to 
remonstrate. 

“ I hope there is no offence for an elderly seaman, like 
myself, Captain Wilder, in venturing an opinion on the 
weather,” he said. “When the pocket of the owner is 
interested, my judgment approves of going about, for I 
have no taste for land that the wind blows on, instead of off. 
But by easing the ship with a reef or two, she would always 
be jogging seaward ; and all we gain would be clear gain, 
because it is so much off the Hatteras. Besides, who can 
say that to-morrow, or the next day, we sha’n’t have a 
puff out of America, here at northwest ? ” 

“ A couple of points fall off, and a pull upon your weather- 
braces ! ’ ’ said Wilder, in a way to show that he was in 
earnest. 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


223 


It would have exceeded the peaceful and submissive dis- 
position of the honest Baring to delay any longer. The 
orders were given to the inferiors ; and, as a matter of 
course, they were obeyed — though ill-suppressed and por- 
tentous sounds of discontent, at the undetermined, and seem- 
ingly unreasonable, changes in their officer’s mind, might 
have been heard issuing from the mouths of Knighthead 
and the other veterans of the crew. 

To all these symptoms of disaffection Wilder remained 
utterly indifferent. If he heard them at all, he either dis- 
dained to yield them any notice, or, guided by a temporiz- 
ing policy, he chose to appear unconscious of their import. 
In the meantime the vessel, like a bird whose wing had 
wearied with struggling against the tempest, and which 
inclines from the gale to choose an easier course, glided 
swiftly away, quartering the crests of the waves, or sinking 
gracefully in their troughs, as she yielded to the force of a 
wind that was now made to be favorable. The sea rolled 
on, in a direction no longer adverse to her course ; and, by 
receding from the breeze, the quality of sail spread was no 
longer trying to her powers of endurance. Still, in the 
opinion of all her crew, she had quite enough canvas 
exposed to a night of so portentous aspect. But not so in 
the judgment of the stranger who was charged with the 
guidance of her destinies. In a voice that still admonished 
his inferiors of the danger of disobedience, he commanded 
several broad sheets of studding-sails to be set in quick 
succession. Urged by these new impulses, the ship went 
careering over the waves, leaving a train of foam in her 
track, that rivalled, in its volume and brightness, the tum- 
bling summit of the largest swell. 

When sail after sail had been set, until even Wilder was 
obliged to confess to himself that the Royal Caroline, 
staunch as she was, would bear no more, our adventurer 
began to pace the deck again, and to cast his eyes about 
him to watch the fruits of his new experiment. The change 
in the course of the Bristol trader had made a correspond- 
ing change in the apparent direction of the stranger, who 
yet floated in the horizon like a diminutive and misty 


224 


TTbe 1 Reb 1Ro\>er 


shadow. Still the unerring compass told the watchful 
mariner, that she continued to maintain the same relative 
position as when first seen. 1 No effort, on the part of 
Wilder, could alter her bearing an inch. Another hour 
soon passed away, during which, as the log told him, his 
own ship had rolled through three leagues of water, and 
still there lay the stranger in the west, as if he were merely 
a lessened shadow of herself, cast by the Caroline upon the 
distant and dusky clouds. An alteration in his course 
exposed a broader surface of his canvas to the eyes of those 
who watched him, but in nothing else was there a visible 
change. If his sail had been materially increased, the dis- 
tance and the obscurity prevented even the understanding 
Earing from detecting it. Perhaps the excited mind of the 
worthy mate was too much disposed to believe in the mirac- 
ulous powers possessed by his unaccountable neighbor, to 
admit of the full exercise of his experienced faculties on the 
occasion ; but even Wilder, who vexed his sight, in often- 
repeated examinations, was obliged to confess to himself, 
that the stranger seemed to glide across the waste of waters, 
more like a body floating in the air, than a ship resorting to 
the known expedients of mariners. 

Mrs. Wyllys and her charge, by this time, had retired to 
their cabin ; the former secretly felicitating herself on the 
prospect of soon quitting a vessel that had commenced its 
voyage under such sinister circumstances, as to have de- 
ranged the equilibrium of even her governed and well- 
disciplined mind. Gertrude was left in ignorance of the 
change. To her uninstructed eye, all appeared the same on 
the wilderness of the ocean ; Wilder having it in his power 
to alter the direction of his vessel as often as he pleased, with- 
out his fairer and more youthful passenger being any the 
wiser. 

Not so with the intelligent commander of the Caroline him- 
self. To him there was neither obscurity nor doubt in the 

1 The reader will understand that the apparent direction of a ship 
at sea, seen from the deck of another, changes with the change of 
course, but that the true direction can only be varied by a change 
of relative position. 


Ubc IRefc IRover 


225 


midst of his midnight path. His eye had long been familiar 
with every star that rose from out the dark and ragged out- 
line of the sea, nor was there a blast that swept across the 
ocean, that his burning cheek could not tell from what quar- 
ter of the heavens it poured out its power. He knew, and 
understood, each inclination made by the bows of his ship : 
his mind kept even pace with her windings and turnings, in 
all her trackless wanderings ; and he had little need to con- 
sult any of the accessories of his art, to tell him what course 
to steer, or in what manner to guide the movements of the 
nice machine he governed. Still he was unable to explain 
the extraordinary evolutions of the stranger. The smallest 
change he ordered seemed rather anticipated than followed ; 
and his hope of eluding a vigilance that proved so watchful, 
was baffled by a facility of manoeuvring, and a superiority 
of sailing, that really began to assume, even to his in- 
telligent eyes, the appearance of some unaccountable agency. 

While our adventurer was engaged in the gloomy mus- 
ings that such impressions were not ill adapted to excite, 
the heavens and the sea began to exhibit new aspects. The 
bright streak which had so long hung along the eastern 
horizon, as if the curtain of the firmament had been slightly 
opened to admit a passage for the winds, was now suddenly 
closed ; and heavy masses of black clouds began to gather 
in that quarter, until vast volumes of the vapor were piled 
upon the water, blending the two elements in one. On the 
other hand, the gloomy canopy lifted in the west, and a long 
belt of lurid light was shed athwart the view. In this flood 
of bright and portentous mist the stranger still floated, 
though there were moments when his faint and fanciful out- 
lines seemed to be melting into air. 

15 




CHAPTER XVI. 


“ Yet again ? What do you here ? 
Have you a mind to think ? ” 


Shall we give o’er and drown ? 

Tempest. 


O UR watchful adventurer was not blind to these sini- 
ster omens. No sooner did the peculiar atmos- 
phere, by which the mysterious image that he so 
often examined was suddenly surrounded, catch 
his eye, than his voice was raised in the clear, powerful, and 
exciting notes of warning. 

“Stand by,” he called aloud, “to in all studding-sails ! 
Down with them ! ” he added, scarcely giving his former 
words time to reach the ears of his subordinates. ‘ ‘ Down 
with every rag of them, fore and aft the ship ! Man the 
top-gallant clew-lines, Mr. Earing. Clew up, and clew 
down ! In with everything, cheerily, men ! In ! ” 

This was a language to which the crew of the Caroline 
were no strangers, and it was doubly welcome, since the 
meanest seaman amongst them had long thought that his 
unknown commander had been heedlessly trifling with the 
safety of the vessel, by the hardy manner in which he dis- 
regarded the wild symptoms of the weather. But they 
undervalued the keen-eyed vigilance of Wilder. He had 
certainly driven the Bristol trader through the water at a 
rate she had never been known to go before ; but, thus far, 
the facts themselves gave evidence in his favor, since no 
injury was the consequence of what they deemed temerity. 
At the quick sudden order just given, however, the whole 
ship was in an uproar. A dozen seamen called to each other, 
from different parts of the vessel, each striving to lift his 

226 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


227 


voice above the roaring ocean ; and there was every appear- 
ance of a general and inextricable confusion ; but the same 
authority which had so unexpectedly aroused them into ac- 
tivity, produced order from their ill-directed though vigorous 
efforts. 

Wilder had spoken, to awaken the drowsy and to excite 
the torpid. The instant he found each man on the alert, he 
resumed his orders with a calmness that gave a direction to 
the powers of all, and yet with an energy that he well knew 
was called for by the occasion. The enormous sheets of 
duck, which had looked like so many light clouds in the 
murky and threatening heavens, were soon seen fluttering 
wildly, as they descended from their high places, and, in a 
few minutes, the ship was reduced to the action of her more 
secure and heavier canvas. To effect this object, every man 
in the ship exerted his powers to the utmost, under the 
guidance of the steady but rapid mandates of their com- 
mander. Then followed a short and apprehensive pause. 
All eyes were turned towards the quarter where the omin- 
ous signs had been discovered ; and each individual endeav- 
ored to read their import, with an intelligence correspondent 
to the degree of skill he might have acquired, during his 
particular period of service on that treacherous element 
which was now his home. 

The dim tracery of the stranger’s form had been swal- 
lowed by the flood of misty light, which, by this time, rolled 
along the sea like drifting vapor, semi-pellucid, preternat- 
ural, and seemingly tangible. The ocean itself appeared 
admonished that a quick and violent change was nigh. 
The waves, ceased to break in their former foaming and 
brilliant crests, and black masses of the water lifted their 
surly summits against the eastern horizon, no longer shed- 
ding their own peculiar and lucid atmosphere around them. 
The breeze, which had been so fresh, and which had even 
blown with a force that nearly amounted to a gale, was lull- 
ing and becoming uncertain, as it might be awed by the 
more violent power that was gathering along the borders of 
the sea, in the direction of the neighboring continent. Each 
moment the eastern puffs of air lost their strength, becoming 


TLbc 1Ret> IRover 


.2 28 


more and more feeble, until, in an incredibly short period, 
the heavy sails were heard flapping against the masts. A 
frightful and ominous calm succeeded. At this instant, 
a gleam flashed from the fearful obscurity of the ocean, and 
a roar, like that of a sudden burst of thunder, bellowed along 
the waters. The seamen turned their startled looks on 
each other, standing aghast, as if a warning of what was to 
follow had come out of the heavens themselves. But their 
calm and more sagacious commander put a different con- 
struction on the signal. His lip curled, in high professional 
pride, and he muttered with scorn, — 

“Does he imagine that we sleep? Ay, he has got it 
himself, and would open our eyes to what is coming ! What 
does he conjecture we have been about, since the middle 
watch was set ? ’ ’ 

Wilder made a swift turn or two on the quarter-deck, 
turning his quick glances from one quarter of the heavens 
to another ; from the black and lulling water on which his 
vessel was rolling, to the sails ; and from his silent and pro- 
foundly expectant crew, to the dim lines of spars that were 
waving above his head, like so many pencils tracing their 
curvilinear and wanton images over the murky volumes of 
the superincumbent clouds. 

“ Day the after-yards square !” he said, in a voice which 
was heard by every man on deck, though his words were 
apparently spoken but little above his breath. The creaking 
of the blocks, as the spars came slowly and heavily round 
to the indicated position, contributed to the imposing char- 
acter of the moment, sounding like notes of fearful prepara- 
tion. 

“ Haul up the courses ! ” resumed Wilder, with the same 
eloquent calmness of manner. Then, taking another glance 
at the threatening horizon, he added slowly but with em- 
phasis, “Furl them — furl them both. Away aloft, and 
hand your courses ! ” he continued in a shout ; “ roll them 
up, cheerily ; in with them, boys, cheerily ; in ! ” 

The conscious seamen took their impulses from the tones 
of their commander. In a moment, twenty dark forms were 
leaping up the rigging, with the alacrity of so many quadru- 


Ube iReb iRover 


229 


peds. In another minute, the vast and powerful sheets of 
canvas were effectually rendered harmless, by securing them 
in tight rolls to their respective spars. The men descended 
as swiftly as they had mounted to the yards ; and then suc- 
ceeded another breathing pause. At this appalling moment, 
a candle would have sent its flame perpendicularly towards 
the heavens. The ship, missing the steadying power of the 
wind, rolled heavily in the troughs of the seas, which began 
to lessen at each instant, as if the startled element was re- 
calling into the security of its own vast bosom that portion 
of its particles which had so lately been permitted to gam- 
bol madly over its surface. The water washed sullenly 
along the side of the ship, or, as she laboring rose from one 
of her frequent falls into the hollows of the waves, it shot 
back into the ocean from her decks in glittering cascades. 
Every hue of the heavens, every sound of the element, and 
each dusky and anxious countenance, helped to proclaim 
the intense interest of the moment. In this brief interval of 
expectation and inactivity, the mates again approached their 
commander. 

“It is an awful night, Captain Wilder ! ” said Earing, 
presuming on his rank to be the first to speak. 

“ I have known far less notice given of a shift of wind,” 
was the answer. 

“ We have had time to gather in our kites, ’t is true, sir ; 
but there are signs and warnings that come with this change 
which the oldest seaman must dread ! ” 

“Yes,” continued Knighthead, in a voice that sounded 
hoarse and powerful, even amid the fearful accessories of 
that scene ; “ yes, it is no trifling commission that can call 
people that I shall not name out upon the water in such a 
night as this. It was in just such weather that I saw the 
Vesuvius ketch go to a place so deep, that her own mortar 
would not have been able to have sent a bomb into the open 
air, had hands and fire been there fit to let it off ! ” 

“ Ay ; and it was in such a time that the Greenlandman 
was cast upon the Orkneys, in as flat a calm as ever lay on 
the sea.” 

“ Gentlemen,” said Wilder, with a peculiar and perhaps 


230 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


an ironical emphasis on the word, ‘ ‘ what would ye have ? 
There is not a breath of air stirring, and the ship is raked to 
her top-sails ! ” 

It would have been difficult for either of the two malcon- 
tents to give a very satisfactory answer to this question. 
Both were secretly goaded by mysterious and superstitious 
apprehensions, that were powerfully aided by the more real 
and intelligible aspect of the night ; but neither had so far 
forgotten his manhood, and his professional pride, as to lay 
bare the full extent of his own weakness, at a moment when 
he was liable to be called upon for the exhibition of qualities 
of a more positive and determined character. The feeling 
that was uppermost betrayed itself in the reply of Earing, 
though in an indirect and covert manner. 

“ Yes, the vessel is snug enough now,” he said, “ though 
eyesight has shown us it is no easy matter to drive a 
freighted ship through the water as fast as one of those 
flying craft aboard which no man can say who stands at 
the helm, by what compass she steers, or what is her 
draught ! ’ ’ 

“Ay,” resumed Knighthead, “I call the Caroline fast 
for an honest trader. There are few square-rigged boats 
who do not wear the pennants of the king, that can eat her 
out of the wind on a bowline, or bring her into their wake 
with studding-sails set. But this is a time and an hour to 
make a seaman think. Took at yon hazy light, here, in 
with the land, that is coming so fast down upon us, and 
then tell me whether it comes from the coast of America, 
or whether it comes from out of the stranger who has been 
so long running under our lee, but who has got, or is fast 
getting, the wind of us at last, while none here can say how, 
or wh}'. I have just this much, and no more, to say ; give 
me for consort a craft whose captain I know, or give me 
none ! ’ ’ 

“Such is your taste, Mr. Knighthead,” said Wilder, 
coldly ; “ mine may, by some accident, be different.” 

“Yes, yes,” observed the more cautious and prudent 
Earing, ‘ ‘ in time of war, and with letters of marque aboard, 
a man may honestly hope the sail he sees should have a 


Qftc IReb 1Ro\>er 


231 


stranger for her master ; or otherwise he would never fall in 
with an enemy. But though an Englishman bom myself, 
I should rather give the ship in that mist a clear sea, seeing 
that I neither know her nation nor her cruise. Ah, Captain 
Wilder, this is an awful sight for the morning watch ! Often 
and often have I seen the sun rise in the east, and no harm 
done ; but little good can come of a day when the light first 
breaks in the west. Cheerfully would I give the owners the 
last month’s pay, hard as it has been earned, did I but know 
under what flag the stranger sails.” 

“Frenchman, Don, or Devil, yonder he comes!” cried 
Wilder. Then, turning towards the attentive crew, he 
shouted, in a voice that was appalling by its vehemence 
and warning, ‘ ‘ Let run the after-halyards ! round with the 
fore-yard ; round with it, men, with a will ! ” 

These were cries that the startled crew but too well under- 
stood. Every nerve and muscle were exerted to execute the 
orders, to be in readiness for the tempest. No man spoke ; 
but each expended the utmost of his power and skill in 
direct and manly efforts. Nor was there, in verity, a mo- 
ment to lose, or a particle of human strength expended here, 
without a sufficient object. 

The lurid and fearful-looking mist, which, for the last 
quarter of an hour, had been gathering in the northwest, 
was driving down upon them with the speed of a race-horse. 
The air had already lost the damp and peculiar feeling of an 
easterly breeze ; and little eddies were beginning to flutter 
among the masts— precursors of the coming squall. Then, 
a rushing, roaring sound was heard moaning along the 
ocean, whose surface was first dimpled, next ruffled, and 
finally covered with a sheet of clear, white, and spotless 
foam. At the next moment, the power of the wind fell upon 
the inert and laboring Bristol trader. 

While the gust was approaching, Wilder had seized the 
slight opportunity afforded by the changeful puffs of air to 
get the ship as much as possible before the wind ; but the 
sluggish movement of the vessel met neither the wishes of 
his own impatience nor the exigencies of the moment. Her 
bows slowly and heavily fell off from the north, leaving her 


232 


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precisely in a situation to receive the first shock on her 
broadside. Happy it was, for all who had life at risk in 
that defenceless vessel, that she was not fated to receive the 
whole weight of the tempest at a blow. The sails fluttered 
and trembled on their massive yards, bellying and collaps- 
ing alternately for a minute, and then the rushing wind 
swept over them in a hurricane. 

The Caroline received the blast like a stout and buoyant 
ship as she was, yielding to its impulse until her side lay 
nearly incumbent on the element ; and then, as if the fearful 
fabric were conscious of its jeopardy, it seemed to lift its 
reclining masts again, struggling to work its way through 
the water. 

“ Keep the helm a- weather ! Jam it a-weather, for your 
life ! ” shouted Wilder, amid the roar of the gust. 

The veteran seaman at the wheel obeyed the order with 
steadiness, but in vain did he keep his eyes on the margin 
of his head sail, to watch the manner in which the ship 
would obey its power. Twice more, in as many moments, 
the giddy masts fell towards the horizon, waving as often 
gracefully upward, and then they yielded to the mighty 
pressure of the wind, until the whole machine lay prostrate 
on the water. 

‘ ‘ Be cool ! ’ ’ said Wilder, seizing the bewildered Earing 
by the arm, as the latter rushed madly up the steep of the 
deck ; “ it is our duty to be calm ; bring hither an axe. ’ ’ 

Quick as the thought which gave the order, the admon- 
ished mate complied, jumping into the mizzen-channels of 
the ship, to execute with his own hands the mandate that 
he knew must follow. 

“Shall I cut? ” he demanded, with uplifted arms, and in 
a voice that atoned for his momentary confusion, by its 
steadiness and force. 

“ Hold ! Does the ship mind her helm at all ? ” 

“ Not an inch, sir.” 

“Then cut ! ” Wilder clearly and calmly added. 

A single blow sufficed for the discharge of this important 
duty. Extended to the utmost powers of endurance, by the 
Vast weight it upheld, the lanyard struck by Earing no 


XTbe IRefc iRcwer 


233 


sooner parted, than each of its fellows snapped in succes- 
sion, leaving the mast dependent on its wood for the sup- 
port of all the ponderous and complicated hamper it upheld. 
The cracking of the spar came next ; and the whole fell like 
a tree that had been sapped at its foundation. 

“Does she fall off!” called Wilder, to the observant 
seaman at the wheel. 

She yielded a little, sir ; but this new squall is bringing 
her up again. * 

Shall I cut ? ’ ’ shouted Karing from the main-rigging, 
whither he had leaped, like a tiger who had bounded on his 
prey. 

“Cut!” 

A louder and more imposing crash succeeded this order, 
though not before several heavy blows had been struck into 
the massive mast itself. As before, the sea received the 
tumbling maze of spars, rigging, and sails ; the vessel surg- 
ing, at the same instant, from its recumbent position, and 
rolling far and heavily to windward. 

She rights ! she rights ! ’ ’ exclaimed twenty voices 
which had been mute, in a suspense that involved life and 
death. 

Keep her dead away ! ’ ’ added the calm but authorita- 
tive voice of the young commander. “Stand by to furl the 
fore-top-sail — let it hang a moment to drag the ship clear 
of the wreck — cut, cut — cheerily, men — hatchets and knives 
— cut with all, and cut off all ! ” 

As the men now worked with the vigor of hope, the 
ropes that still confined the fallen spars to the vessel were 
quickly severed ; and the Caroline, by this time dead before 
the gale, appeared barely to touch the foam that covered 
the sea. The wind came over the waste in gusts that 
rumbled like distant thunder, and with a power that seemed 
to threaten to lift the ship from its proper element. As a 
prudent and sagacious seaman had let fly the halyards of 
the solitary sail that remained, at the moment the squall 
approached, the loosened but lowered top-sail was now dis- 
tended in a manner that threatened to drag after it the only 
mast which still stood. Wilder saw the necessity of getting 


234 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


rid of the sail, and he also saw the utter impossibility of 
securing it. Calling Earing to his side, he pointed out the 
danger, and gave the necessary order. 

“The spar cannot stand such shocks much longer,” he 
concluded ; ‘ ‘ should it go over the bows, some fatal blow 
might be given to the ship at the rate she is moving. A 
man or two must be sent aloft to cut the sail from the 
yards.” 

“ The stick is bending like a willow whip,” returned the 
mate, “and the lower mast itself is sprung. There would 
be great danger in trusting a hand in that top, while these 
wild squalls are breathing around us.” 

“You may be right,” returned Wilder, with a sudden 
conviction of the truth of what the other had said. ‘ ‘ Stay 
you then here ; if anything befall me, try to get the vessel 
into port as far north as the Capes of Virginia, at least ; 
on no account attempt Hatteras in the present condition 
of—” 

‘ ‘ What would you do, Captain Wilder ? ’ ’ interrupted 
the mate, laying his hand on the shoulder of his com- 
mander, who had already thrown his sea-cap on the deck, 
and was preparing to divest himself of some of his outer 
garments. 

“I go aloft to ease the mast of that top-sail, without 
which we lose the spar, and possibly the ship.” 

“I see that plain enough, sir; but, shall it be said that 
another did the duty of Edward Earing ? It is your busi- 
ness to carry the vessel into the Capes of Virginia, and 
mine to cut the top-sail adrift. If harm comes to me, why, 
put it in the log, with a word or two about the manner in 
which I played my part. That is the most proper epitaph 
for a sailor. ’ * 

Wilder made no resistance. He resumed his watchful 
and reflecting attitude, with the simplicity of one who had 
been too long trained to the discharge of certain obligations 
himself, to manifest surprise that another should acknowl- 
edge their imperative character. In the meantime, Earing 
proceeded steadily to perform what he had just promised. 
Passing into the waist of the ship, he provided himself with 


Ube IReb IRover 


235 


a suitable hatchet, and then, without speaking a syllable to 
any of the mute but attentive seamen, he sprang into the 
fore-rigging, every strand and rope-yarn of which was tight- 
ened by the strain nearly to snapping. The understanding 
eyes of his observers comprehended his intention ; and with 
precisely the same pride of station as had urged him to the 
dangerous undertaking, four or five of the oldest mariners 
jumped upon the ratlines, to mount into an air that appar- 
ently teemed with a hundred hurricanes. 

“Tie down out of that fore-rigging,” shouted Wilder, 
through a deck trumpet; “lie down ; all, but the mate, lie 
down ! ” His words were borne past the inattentive ears of 
the excited and mortified followers of Baring, but for once 
they failed of their effect. Bach man was too earnestly 
bent on his purpose to listen to the sounds of recall. In 
less than a minute, the whole were scattered along the 
yards, prepared to obey the signal of their officer. The 
mate cast a look about him ; perceiving that the time was 
comparatively favorable, he struck a blow upon the large 
rope that confined one of the lower angles of the distended 
and bursting sail to the yard. The effect was much the 
same as would be produced by knocking away the key- 
stone of an ill-cemented arch. The canvas broke from its 
fastenings with a loud explosion, and, for an instant, it was 
seen sailing in the air ahead of the ship, as if it were sus- 
tained on wings. The vessel rose on a sluggish wave — 
the lingering remains of the former breeze — and settled 
heavily over the rolling surge, borne down alike by its own 
weight and the renewed violence of the gusts. At this 
critical instant, while the seamen aloft were still gazing in 
the direction in which the little cloud of canvas had disap- 
peared, a lanyard of the lower rigging parted, with a crack 
that reached the ears of Wilder. 

“Lie down!” he shouted wildly through his trumpet; 
“ down by the backstays ; down for your lives ; every man 
of you, down ! ’ ’ 

A solitary individual profited by the warning, gliding to 
the deck with the velocity of the wind. But rope parted 
after rope, and the fatal snapping of the wood followed. 


236 


Ube IReb IRover 


For a moment, the towering maze tottered, seeming to 
wave towards every quarter of the heavens ; and then, 
yielding to the movements of the hull, the whole fell, with 
a heavy crash, into the sea. Cord, lanyard, and stay 
snapped like thread, as each received in succession the 
strain of the ship, leaving the naked and despoiled hull of 
the Caroline to drive before the tempest, as if nothing had 
occurred to impede its progress. 

A mute and eloquent pause succeeded the disaster. It 
seemed as if the elements themselves were appeased by their 
work, and something like a momentary lull in the awful 
rushing of the winds might have been fancied. Wilder 
.sprang to the side of the vessel, and distinctly beheld the 
victims, who still clung to their frail support. He even saw 
Earing waving his hand, in adieu, with a seaman’s heart, 
like a man who not only felt how desperate was his situa- 
tion, but who knew how to meet it with resignation. Then 
the wreck of spars, with all who clung to it, was swallowed 
up in the body of the frightful, preternatural-looking mist 
which extended on every side of them, from the ocean to the 
clouds. 

“ Stand by, to clear away a boat ! ” shouted Wilder, with- 
out pausing to think of the impossibility of one’s swimming, 
or of effecting the least good, in so violent a tornado. 

But the amazed and confounded seamen who remained 
needed no instruction in this matter. Not a man moved, 
nor was the smallest symptom of obedience given. The 
mariners looked wildly around them, each endeavoring to 
trace in the dusky countenance of some shipmate his opinion 
of the extent of the evil ; but not a mouth opened among 
them all. 

“It is too late — it is too late ! ’ ’ murmured Wilder ; 
“ human skill and human efforts could not save them ! ” 

“Sail, ho!” Knighthead shouted in a voice that was 
teeming with superstitious awe. 

“ Eet him come on,” returned his young commander, 
bitterly ; “ the mischief is ready done to his hands ! ” 

“ Should this be a true ship, it is our duty to the owners 
and the passengers to speak her, if a man can make his voice 


XTbe IReb IRover 


237 


heard in this tempest,” the second mate continued, pointing, 
through the haze, at the dim object that was certainly at 
hand. 

“Speak her !— passengers ! ” muttered Wilder involun- 
tarily repeating his words. “No; anything is better than 
speaking her. Do you see the vessel that is driving down 
upon us so fast? ” he sternly demanded of the watchful sea- 
man who still clung to the wheel of the Caroline. 

“Ay, ay, sir.” 

“ Give her a berth — sheer away hard to port — perhaps he 
may pass us in the gloom, now we are no higher than our 
decks. Give the ship a broad sheer, I say, sir.” 

The usual laconic answer was given ; and, for a few 
moments, the Bristol trader was seen diverging a little from 
the line in which the other approached ; but a second glance 
assured Wilder that the attempt was useless. The strange 
ship (every man on board felt certain it was the same that had 
so long been seen hanging in the northwestern horizon) came 
on through the mist, with a swiftness that nearly equalled 
the velocity of the tempestuous winds themselves. Not a 
thread of canvas was seen on board her. Each line of spars, 
even to the tapering and delicate top-gallant masts, was in 
its place, preserving the beauty and symmetry of the whole 
fabric ; but nowhere was there the smallest fragment of a 
sail opened to the gale. Under her bows rolled a volume of 
foam that was even discernible amid the universal agitation 
of the ocean ; and, as she came within sound, the sullen roar 
of the water might have been likened to the noise of a cas- 
cade. At first, the spectators on the decks of the Caroline 
believed they were not seen, and some of the men called 
madly for lights, in order that the disasters of the night 
might not terminate in an encounter. 

“Too many see us there already ! ” said Wilder. 

“ No, no,” muttered Knighthead ; “no fear but we are 
seen ; and by such eyes, too, as never yet looked out of 
mortal head ! ” 

The seamen paused. In another instant, the long-seen 
and mysterious ship was within a hundred feet of them. 
The very power of that wind, which was wont usually to 


238 


XTbe 1 Reb 1Ro\>er 


raise the billows, now pressed the element, with the weight 
of mountains, into its bed. The sea was everywhere a sheet 
of froth, but the water did not rise above the level of the 
surface. The instant a wave lifted itself from the security 
of the vast depths, the fluid was borne away before the tor- 
nado in glittering spray. Along this frothy but compara- 
tively motionless surface, then, the stranger came boom- 
ing with the steadiness and grandeur with which a cloud 
is seen sailing in the hurricane. No sign of life was dis- 
covered about her. If men looked out from their secret 
places, upon the straitened and discomfited wreck of the 
Bristol trader, it was covertly, and as darkly as the tempest 
before which they drove. Wilder held his breath for the 
moment the stranger was nighest, in the very excess of sus- 
pense ; but, as he saw no signal of recognition, no human 
form, nor any intention to arrest, if possible, the furious 
career of the other, a smile gleamed across his countenance, 
and his lips moved rapidly, as if he found pleasure in be- 
ing abandoned to his distress. The stranger drove by, like 
a dark vision ; and, ere another minute, her form was be- 
ginning to grow less distinct, in the body of spray to lee- 
ward. 

“ She is going out of sight in the mist ! ” exclaimed Wil- 
der, when he drew his breath, after the fearful suspense of 
the few last moments. 

“ Ay, in the mist or clouds,” responded Knighthead, who 
now kept obstinately at his elbow, watching, with the most 
jealous distrust, the smallest movement of his unknown 
commander. 

“ In the heavens, or in the sea, I care not, provided he be 
gone. ’ ’ 

“ Most seamen would rejoice to see a strange sail, from the 
hull of a vessel shaved to the deck like this. ’ ’ 

“ Men often court their destruction, from ignorance of their 
own interests. L,et him drive on, say I, and pray I ! He 
goes four feet to our one ; and I ask no better favor than that 
this hurricane may blow until the sun shall rise.” 

Knighthead started, and cast an oblique glance, which 
resembled denunciation, at his companion. To his super- 


TLhc IRefc IRover 


2 39 


stitious mind, there was profanity in thus invoking the tem- 
pest, at a moment when the winds seemed already to be 
pouring out their utmost wrath. 

“ This is a heavy squall, I will allow,’ ’ he said, “ and such 
a one as many mariners pass whole lives without seeing ; 
but he knows little of the sea who thinks there is not more 
wind where this comes from.” 

“Tet it blow!” cried the other, striking his hands 
together a little wildly ; “I pray for wind ! ’ ’ 

All the doubts of Knighthead, as to the character of the 
young stranger who had so unaccountably got possession of 
the office of Nicholas Nichols, if any remained were now 
removed. He walked forward among the silent and thought- 
ful crew, with the air of a man whose opinion was settled. 
Wilder, however, paid no attention to the movements of his 
subordinate, but continued pacing the deck for hours ; now 
casting his eye at the heavens, and now sending frequent 
and anxious glances around the limited horizon, while the 
Royal Caroline still continued drifting before the wind, a 
shorn and naked wreck. 




CHAPTER XVII. 

“ Sit still, and hear the last of our sea sorrow.” 

Shakespeare. 

T HE weight of the tempest had been felt at that hap- 
less moment when Earing and his unfortunate 
companions were precipitated from their giddy 
elevation into the sea. Though the wind con- 
tinued to blow long after this fatal event, it was with a con- 
stantly diminishing power. As the gale decreased, the sea 
began to rise, and the vessel to labor in proportion. Then 
followed two hours of anxious watchfulness on the part of 
Wilder, during which the whole of his professional knowl- 
edge was needed, in order to keep the despoiled hull from 
becoming a prey to the greedy waters. His consummate 
skill, however, proved equal to the task that was required at 
his hands ; and just as the symptoms of the day were be- 
coming visible along the east, both wind and waves were 
rapidly subsiding together. During the whole of this doubtful 
period, our adventurer did not receive the smallest assistance 
from any of the crew, with the exception of two experienced 
seamen whom he had previously stationed at the wheel. But 
to this neglect he was indifferent ; since little more was re- 
quired than his own judgment, seconded, as it faithfully was, 
by the exertions of the mariners more immediately under his 
eye. 

The day dawned on a scene entirely different from that 
which had marked the tempestuous deformity of the night. 
The whole fury of the winds appeared to have been ex- 
pended in their precocious effort. From the moderate gale, 
to which they had fallen by the end of the middle watch, 

240 



XTbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


241 


they further altered to a vacillating breeze ; and, ere 
the sun rose, the changeful element subsided into a flat 
calm. The sea went down as suddenly as the power which 
had raised it vanished ; and, by the time the broad golden 
light of the sun was shed fairly and fully upon the unstable 
ocean, it lay unruffled and polished, though still gently 
heaving in swells so long and heavy as to resemble the placid 
respiration of a sleeping infant. 

The hour was still early, and the serene appearance of the 
sky gave every promise of a day which might be passed in 
devising the expedients necessary to bring the ship under the 
command of her people. 

“Sound the pumps!” said Wilder, observing that the 
crew were appearing from the different places in which they 
had bestowed their cares and their persons together, during 
the late hours of the night. 

‘ 4 Do you hear me, sir ? ” he added sternly, observing 
that no one moved to obey his order. “Tet the pumps 
be sounded, and the ship cleared of every inch of water. * ’ 

Knighthead, to whom Wilder addressed himself, regarded 
his commander with an oblique and sullen eye, exchanging 
intelligent glances with his comrades before he saw fit to 
make the smallest motion towards compliance. But there 
was still that in the authoritative mien of his superior, 
which induced him to comply. The dilatory manner in 
which the seamen performed the duty was quickened, how- 
ever, as the rod ascended, and the well-known signs of a for- 
midable leak met their eyes. The experiment was repeated 
with greater activity, and with more precision. 

4 ‘ If witchcraft can clear the hold of a ship that is already 
half full of water,” said Knighthead, casting another menac- 
ing glance towards the attentive Wilder, “ the sooner it is 
done the better ; for the whole cunning of something more 
than a bungler will be needed, to make the pumps of the 
Royal Caroline suck ! ” 

4 4 Does the ship leak ? ’ ’ demanded his superior, with a 
quickness which proclaimed how important the intelligence 
was deemed. 

“Yesterday, I would have boldly put my name to the 


242 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


articles of any craft that floats the ocean ; and, had the cap- 
tain asked me if I understood her nature and character, as 
certain as that my name is Francis Knighthead, I should 
have told him, yes. But I find that the oldest seaman may 
still learn something of the water ; though it should be got in 
crossing a ferry in a flat. ’ ’ 

“ What mean you, sir ? ” demanded Wilder, who, for the 
first time, began to note the mutinous looks assumed by his 
mate, no less than the threatening manner in which he was 
seconded by the crew. “Have the pumps rigged without 
delay, and clear the ship of water.” 

Knighthead slowly complied with the former part of this 
order ; and, in a few moments, everything was arranged to 
commence the necessary, and, as it would seem, the urgent 
duty of pumping. But no man lifted his hand to the labo- 
rious employment. Wilder, who had taken the alarm, was 
not slow in detecting this reluctance, and he repeated the 
order more sternly, calling to two of the seamen, by name, 
to set the example of obedience. The men hesitated, giving 
an opportunity to the mate to confirm them by his voice, in 
their mutinous intentions. 

‘ ‘ What need of hands to work a pump in a vessel like 
this?” he said, coarsely laughing, secret terror struggling 
strangely at the same time with open malice. ‘ ‘ After what 
we have seen this night, none here will be amazed should 
the vessel begin to spout out the brine like a whale.” 

“ What am I to understand by this hesitation and by this 
language ? ’ ’ said Wilder, approaching Knighthead with a 
firm step, and an eye that threw back the defiance of his 
inferior, in more than equal measure. “Is it you, who 
should be foremost in exertion at a moment like this, who 
dare to set an example of disobedience ? } ’ 

The mate recoiled a pace, and his lips moved ; still he 
uttered no audible reply. Wilder ordered him, in a calm 
authoritative tone, to lay his own hands to the brake. 
Knighthead then found his voice, making a flat refusal. 
At the next moment, he was felled to the feet of his indig- 
nant commander, by a blow he had neither the address nor 
the power to resist. This act of decision was succeeded by 


XTbe 1 Reb IRover 


243 


a single moment of breathless indecision among the crew, 
and then the common cry, and the general rush upon our 
defenceless and solitary adventurer, were signals for open 
hostility. A shriek from the quarter-deck arrested the 
struggle, just as a dozen hands were laid violently upon the 
person of Wilder, and, for a moment, there was a truce. 
The cry came from Gertrude, and happily it possessed 
sufficient influence to check the savage intentions of a 
set of beings rude and unnurtured enough to be guilty of 
any act of violence when their passions were thoroughly 
aroused. Wilder was reluctantly released ; and the surly 
mariners turned towards her whose interference had stopped, 
if it had not changed, their intentions. 

During the more momentous hours of the night that was 
past, the very existence of the passengers had been for- 
gotten by those whose duty kept them on deck. If they 
had been recalled at all to the recollection of any, it was at 
those fleeting moments when the mind of the young seaman, 
who directed the movements of the ship, found leisure to 
catch stolen glimpses of softer scenes than the wild warring 
of the elements that was raging before his eyes. Knight- 
head had named them, as he would have made allusion to a 
part of the cargo, but their fate had little influence on his 
hardened nature. Mrs. Wyllys and her charge had there- 
fore remained below during the whole period, perfectly 
unapprised of the disasters of the intervening time. Buried 
in the recesses of their berths, they had heard the roaring 
of the winds, and the incessant washing of the waters ; but 
these usual accompaniments of a storm served to conceal 
the crashing of masts, and the hoarse cries of the mariners. 
During the moments of terrible suspense, while the Bristol 
trader lay on her side, the better-informed governess had, 
indeed, some fearful glimmerings of the truth ; but, con- 
scious of her uselessness, and unwilling to alarm her less 
instructed companion, she had sufficient self-command to be 
mute. The subsequent silence, and comparative calm, 
induced her to believe that she had been mistaken in her 
apprehensions ; and, long ere morning dawned, both she 
and Gertrude had sunk into refreshing slumbers. They 


244 


XTbe 1 Reb IRovetr 


had risen and mounted to the deck together, and were still 
in the first burst of their wonder at the desolation which 
met their eyes, when the long-meditated attack on Wilder 
was made. 

“What means this awful change?” demanded Mrs. 
Wyllys, with a lip that quivered, and a cheek which, not- 
withstanding the extraordinary power she possessed over 
her feelings, was blanched to the color of death. 

The eye of Wilder was glowing, and his brow was dark 
as those heavens from which they had just so happily 
escaped, as he answered, still menacing his assailants with 
an arm, — 

“ It means mutiny, madam — rascally, cowardly mu- 
tiny ! ” 

“ Could mutiny strip a vessel of her masts, and leave 
her a helpless log upon the sea? ” 

“ Hark ye, madam ! ” roughly interrupted the mate ; “ to 
you I will speak freely ; for it is well known who you are, 
and that you came on board the Caroline a paying passen- 
ger. This night I have seen the heavens and the ocean 
behave as I have never seen them behave before. Ships 
have been running afore the wind, light and buoyant as 
corks, with all their spars stepped and steady, when other 
ships have been shaved of every mast as the razor sweeps 
the chin. Cruisers have been fallen in with, sailing with- 
out living hands to work them ; and, altogether, no man 
here has ever before passed a middle watch like the one 
gone by.” 

“ And what has this to do with the violence I have just 
witnessed ? Is the vessel fated to endure every evil ? Can 
you explain this, Mr. Wilder?” 

“You cannot say, at least, you had no warning of dan- 
ger,” returned Wilder, bitterly. 

“Ay, the devil is obliged to be honest on compulsion,” 
resumed the mate. “ Bach of his imps sails with his 
orders ; and, thank Heaven ! however willing he may be to 
overlook them, he has neither power nor courage to do so. 
Otherwise, a peaceful voyage would be such a rarity in 
these unsettled times, that few men would be found hardy 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


245 


enough to venture on the water for a livelihood. A warn- 
ing ! we will own you gave us open and frequent warning. It 
was a notice that the consignee should not have overlooked, 
when Nicholas Nichols met with the hurt, as the anchor was 
leaving the bottom. I never knew an accident happen at 
such a time, and no evil come of it. Then we had a warn- 
ing with the old man in the boat ; besides the never-failing 
ill-luck of sending the pilot violently out of the ship. As 
if all this was n’t enough, instead of taking a hint and lying 
peaceably at our anchors, we got the ship under way, and 
left a safe and friendly harbor of a Friday, of all the days 
in a week ! 1 So far from being surprised at what has hap- 
pened, I only wonder at still finding myself a living man ; 
the reason of which is simply this, that I have given my 
faith where faith is due, and not to unknown mariners and 
strange commanders. Had Edward Earing done the same, 
he might still have had a plank between him and the bottom ; 
but, though half inclined to believe in the truth, he had, 
after all, too much leaning to superstition and credulity.” 

This labored profession of faith in the mate, though suf- 
ficiently intelligible to Wilder, was still an enigma to his 
female listeners. But Knighthead had not formed his resolu- 
tion by halves ; neither had he gone thus far, with any inten- 
tion to stop short of the whole design. In summary words 
he explained to Mrs. Wyllys the desolate condition of the 
ship, and the utter improbability that she could continue to 
float many hours ; since actual observation had told him 
that her lower hold was already half full of water. 

“And what is to be done?” demanded the governess, 
casting a glance of bitter distress towards the pallid and at- 
tentive Gertrude. “ Is there no strange sail in sight to take 
us from the wreck ? or must we perish in our helplessness ? ’ ’ 

1 The superstition that Friday is an evil day, was not peculiar to 
Knighthead ; it prevails, more or less, among seamen, to this hour. 
An intelligent merchant of Connecticut had a desire to do his part 
in eradicating an impression that is sometimes inconvenient. He 
caused the keel of a vessel to be laid on a Friday ; she was launched 
on a Friday ; named “ The Friday ” ; and sailed on her first voyage 
on a Friday. Unfortunately for the success of this well-intentioned 
experiment, neither vessel nor crew were ever again heard of ! 


246 


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“ God protect us from any more strange sails ! ” exclaimed 
the surly Knighthead. “ We have the pinnace hanging at 
the stern, and there must be land yet some forty leagues to 
the northwest ; water and food are plenty, and twelve stout 
hands can soon pull a boat to the continent of America ; that 
is, provided America is left where it was seen no later than 
at sunset yesterday. ’ ’ 

“You propose to abandon the vessel ? ” 

“ I do. The interest of the owners is dear to all good sea- 
men, but life is sweeter than gold.” 

“ The will of Heaven be done ! But surely you meditate 
no violence against this gentleman, who, I am quite certain, 
has governed the vessel in very critical circumstances, with a 
discretion beyond his years ! ” 

Knighthead muttered his intentions, whatever they might 
be, to himself ; and he walked apart, apparently to confer 
with the men, who seemed but too well disposed to second 
any of his views, however mistaken or lawless. During the 
few moments of suspense that succeeded, Wilder was silent 
and composed, a smile resembling that of contempt strug- 
gling about his lip, and maintaining the air rather of one 
who had power to decide on the fortunes of others, than of 
a man who knew that his own fate was at that very moment 
in discussion. When the dull minds of the seamen had ar- 
rived at their conclusion, the mate advanced to proclaim the 
result. Indeed, words were unnecessary, in order to make 
known a very material part of their decision ; for some of 
the men proceeded instantly to lower the stern-boat into the 
water, while others set about supplying it with the necessary 
means of subsistence. 

“ There is room for all the Christians in the ship to stow 
themselves in this pinnace,” resumed Knighthead ; “as for 
those that place their dependence on any particular persons, 
why, let them call for aid where they have been used to 
receive it. ’ * 

“ From all which I am to infer that it is your intention,” 
said Wilder, calmly, “to abandon the wreck and your 
duty ? ” 

The half-awed but still resentful mate returned a look in 


Ube IRefc iRover 


247 


which fear and triumph struggled for the mastery, as he 
answered, — 

“ You, who know how to sail a ship without a crew, can 
never want a boat ! Besides, you shall never say to your 
friends, whoever they may be, that we leave you without 
the means of reaching the land, if you are indeed a land-bird 
at all. There is the launch ! ” 

“ There is the launch ! but well do you know, that, with- 
out masts, our united strengths could not lift it from the 
deck ; else would it not be left. ’ * 

“They that took the masts out of the Caroline can put 
them in again,” rejoined a grinning seaman ; “it will not 
be an hour after we leave you, before a shear-hulk will come 
alongside to step the spars again, and then you may go 
cruise in company.” 

Wilder was superior to a reply. He began to pace the 
deck, thoughtful it is true, but composed and entirely self- 
possessed. In the meantime, as a common desire to quit 
the wreck as soon as possible actuated the men, their prepa- 
rations advanced with great activity. The wondering and 
alarmed females had hardly time to think clearly on the ex- 
traordinary situation in which they found themselves, before 
they saw the form of the helpless master borne past them to 
the boat ; in another minute they were summoned to take 
their places at his side. 

Thus called upon to act, they began to feel the imperious 
necessity of decision. Remonstrance they feared would be use- 
less ; for the fierce and malignant looks which were cast, from 
time to time, at Wilder as the labor proceeded, proclaimed the 
danger of awakening such obstinate and ignorant minds into 
renewed acts of violence. The governess bethought her of 
an appeal to the wounded man ; but the look of wild care 
which he had cast about him, on being lifted to the deck, 
and the expression of bodily and mental pain that gleamed 
across his rugged features, as he buried them in the blankets 
by which he was enveloped, too plainly announced that little 
assistance was to be expected from him. 

“What remains for us to do?” she at length demanded 
of the seemingly insensible object of her concern. 


248 


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‘ ‘ I would I knew ! ” he answered quickly, casting a keen 
but hurried glance around the whole horizon. “ It is not at 
all improbable that they will reach the shore. Four-and- 
twenty hours of calm will assure it.” 

“ If otherwise? ” 

“ A blow at northwest, or from any quarter off the land 
will prove their ruin.” 

“And the ship? ” 

“ If deserted, she must sink.” 

“ Then will I speak in your favor to these hearts of flint. 
I know not why I feel such interest in your welfare, inex- 
plicable young man ; but I would suffer much, rather than 
leave you to incur this peril. ’ ’ 

“Stop, dearest madam,” said Wilder, respectfully arrest- 
ing her movement with his hand. ‘ ‘ I cannot leave the 
vessel.” 

“ We know not yet. The most stubborn natures may be 
subdued ; even ignorance can be made to open its ears at the 
voice of entreaty. I may prevail.” 

‘ ‘ There is one temper to be quelled — one reason to con- 
vince — one prejudice to conquer, over which you have no 
power. ’ * 

“ Whose is that ? ” 

“ My own.” 

“ What mean you, sir? Surely you are not weak enough 
to suffer resentment against such beings to goad you to an 
act of madness ? ’ ’ 

“ Do I seem mad ? ’ ’ demanded Wilder. ‘ ‘ The feeling by 
which I am governed may be false, but, such as it is, it is 
grafted on my habits, my opinions ; I will say, my prin- 
ciples. Honor forbids me to quit a ship that I command, 
while a plank of her is afloat. ’ ’ 

“Of what use can a single arm prove at such a crisis ? ” 

‘ ‘ None, ’ ’ he answered, with a melancholy smile. ‘ ‘ I must 
die, in order that others, who may be serviceable hereafter, 
should do their duty.” 

Both Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude regarded his kindling 
eye, but otherwise placid countenance, with looks whose 
concern amounted to horror. The former read, in the 


Ube iReb iRover 


249 


very composure of his mien, the unalterable character of 
his resolution ; and the latter, shuddering as the prospect 
of the cruel fate which awaited him crowded on her mind, 
felt a glow about her own youthful heart that almost 
tempted her to believe his self-devotion commendable. But 
the governess saw new reasons for apprehension in the 
determination of Wilder. If she had hitherto felt reluc- 
tance to trust herself and her ward with a band like that 
which now possessed the sole authority, it was more than 
doubly increased by the rude and noisy summons she re- 
ceived to hasten and take her place among them. 

“ Would to Heaven I knew in what manner to decide ! ” 
she exclaimed. ‘ ‘ Speak to us, young man ; counsel us, as 
you would counsel a mother and a sister.” 

“ Were I so fortunate as to possess relatives so near and 
dear, nothing should separate us at a time like this.” 

“ Is there hope for those who remain on the wreck ? ” 

“ But little.” 

“ And in the boat? ” 

It was near a minute before Wilder made an answer. 
He again turned his eye to the bright and broad horizon, 
studying the heavens, in the direction of the distant conti- 
nent, with infinite care. No omen that could indicate the 
probable character of the weather escaped his vigilance, 
while his countenance reflected the various emotions by 
which he was governed. 

“ As I am a man,” he said with fervor, “and one who is 
bound not only to counsel but to protect your sex, I distrust 
the time. I think the chance of being seen by some pass- 
ing sail equal to the probability that those who adventure 
in the pinnace will ever reach the land.” 

“Then let us remain,” said Gertrude, the blood, for the 
first time since her reappearance on deck, rushing in a 
torrent into her colorless cheeks. “ I like not the wretches 
who would be our companions in that boat. ’ ’ 

“Away, away!” impatiently shouted Knighthead. 
“Bach minute of light is a week of life to us all, and 
every moment of calm, a year. Away, away, or we leave 
you I ” 


250 


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Mrs. Wyllys answered not, but she stood the image of 
doubt and indecision. The plash of oars was heard in the 
water, and, at the next moment, the pinnace was seen glid- 
ing over the element, impelled by the strong arms of six 
powerful rowers. 

“Stay ! ” shrieked the governess, no longer undetermined, 
“receive my child, though you abandon me!” 

A wave of the hand, and an indistinct rumbling in the 
coarse tones of the mate, were the answers to her appeal. 
A long, deep, and breathing silence followed among the 
deserted. The grim countenances of the seamen in the 
pinnace soon became confused and indistinct, and then the 
boat itself began to lessen on the eye, until it seemed no 
more than a dark and distant speck, rising and falling with 
the flow and reflux of the blue waters. During all this 
time, not even a whispered word was spoken. Each of the 
party gazed, until eyes grew dim, at the receding object ; 
and it was only when his sight refused to convey the tiny 
image to his brain, that Wilder himself shook off the impres- 
sion of the trance into which he had fallen. His look then 
turned on his companions, and he pressed his hand upon his 
forehead, as if the brain were bewildered by the responsi- 
bility he had assumed in advising them to remain. But the 
sickening apprehension passed away, leaving in its place a 
firmer mind, and a resolution, too often tried in scenes of 
doubtful issue, to be long or easily shaken from its calmness 
and self-possession. 

“They are gone ! ” he said, breathing heavily, like one 
whose respiration had been long and unnaturally suspended. 

“ They are gone ! ” echoed the governess, turning an eye 
that was contracting with the intensity of her care, on the 
marble-like and motionless form of her pupil. “There is 
no longer hope ! ’ ’ 

The look that Wilder threw on the same silent but lovely 
statue was scarcely less expressive than the gaze of her, 
who had nurtured her infancy. His brow grew thoughtful, 
and his lips became compressed, while he gathered all the 
resources of his fertile imagination and varied experience. 

* * Is there hope ? ’ ’ demanded the governess, who was 


Zhc IRefc tRover 


251 

watching the change of his working countenance, with an 
attention that never swerved. 

The gloom passed away from his features, and the smile 
that lighted them was like the radiance of the sun, as it 
breaks through the blackest vapors of the gust. 

“ There is ! ” he said with firmness ; “ our case is not yet 
desperate.” 

“ Then, may He who rules the ocean and the land receive 
the praise ! ” cried the grateful governess, giving vent to 
her long suppressed agony in a flood of tears. 

Gertrude cast herself upon the neck of Mrs. Wyllys, and 
for a minute their unrestrained emotions were mingled. 

‘‘And now, dearest madam,” said Gertrude, leaving the 
arms of her governess, ‘ ‘ let us trust to the skill of Mr. 
Wilder ; he has foreseen and foretold this danger ; equally 
well may he predict our safety.” 

‘ ‘ Foreseen and foretold ! ’ ’ returned the other, in a man- 
ner to show that her faith in the professional prescience of 
the stranger was not altogether so unbounded as that of her 
more youthful and ardent companion. “No mortal could 
have foreseen this awful calamity ; and, least of all, fore- 
seeing it, would he have sought to incur its danger ! Mr. 
Wilder, I will not annoy you with requests for explanations 
that might now be useless, but you will not refuse to com- 
municate your grounds of hope.” 

Wilder hastened to relieve a curiosity that he knew must 
be as painful as it was natural. The mutineers had left the 
largest, and much the safest, of the two boats belonging to 
the wreck, from a desire to improve the calm, well knowing 
that hours of severe labor would be necessary to launch it 
into the ocean from the place it occupied between the stumps 
of the two principal masts. This operation, which might 
have been executed in a few minutes with the ordinary pur- 
chases of the ship, would have required all their strength 
united, and that, too, to be exercised with a discretion and 
care that would have consumed too many of those moments 
which they rightly deemed to be so precious at that wild and 
unstable season of the year. Into this little ark Wilder pro- 
posed to convey such articles of comfort and necessity as he 


252 


Ube IReb IRover 


might hastily collect from the abandoned vessel ; and then, 
entering it with his companions, to await the critical instant 
when the wreck should sink from beneath them. 

“ Call you this hope ? ” exclaimed Mrs. Wyllys, when his 
short explanation was ended, her cheek blanching with dis- 
appointment. “ I have heard that the gulf, which founder- 
ing vessels leave, swallows all lesser objects that are floating 
nigh ! ” 

“ It sometimes happens. For worlds I would not deceive 
you ; and I now say that I think our chance for escape equal 
to that of being ingulfed with the vessel.’ ’ 

“ This is terrible ! ” murmured the governess ; “ but the 
will of Heaven be done ! Cannot ingenuity supply the 
place of strength, and the boat be cast from the decks before 
the fatal moment shall arrive? ” 

Wilder shook his head in the negative. 

“We are not so weak as you may think us,” said Ger- 
trude. ‘ ‘ Give a direction to our efforts, and let us see 
what may yet be done. Here is Cassandra,” she added — 
turning to the black girl already introduced to the reader, 
who stood behind her young and ardent mistress with the 
mantle and shawls of the latter thrown over her arm, as if 
about to attend her on an excursion for the morning — 
‘ ‘ here is Cassandra, who alone has nearly the strength of a 
man.” 

‘ ‘ Had she the strength of twenty, I should despair of 
launching the boat without the aid of machinery. But we 
lose time in words ; I will go below in order to judge of 
the probable duration of our doubt ; and then to our prep- 
arations. Even you, fair and fragile as you seem, lovely 
being, may aid in the latter.” 

He then pointed out such lighter objects as would be 
necessary to their comfort, should they be so fortunate as to 
get clear of the wreck, and advised their being put into the 
boat without delay. While the three females were thus 
usefully employed, he descended into the hold of the ship, in 
order to note the increase of the water, and to make his 
calculations on the time that would elapse before the sink- 
ing fabric must entirely disappear. The fact proved their 


Uhc IRefc IRcwer 


253 


case to be more alarming than even Wilder had been led 
to expect. Stripped of her masts, the vessel had labored 
so heavily as to open many of her seams ; and, as the upper 
works began to settle beneath the level of the ocean, the 
influx of the element was increasing with frightful rapidity. 
As the young mariner looked understanding^ about him, 
he cursed, in the bitterness of his heart, the ignorance and 
superstition that had caused the desertion of the crew. 
There existed, in reality, no evil that exertion and skill 
could not have remedied ; but, deprived of aid, he saw the 
folly of even attempting to procrastinate a catastrophe that 
was now unavoidable. Returning with a heavy heart to 
the deck, he immediately set about those dispositions which 
were necessary to afford them the only chance of escape. 

While his companions deadened the sense of apprehen- 
sion by their lighter employment, Wilder stepped the two 
masts of the boat, and disposed of the sails and the other 
implements that might be useful in the event of success, 
Thus occupied, a couple of hours flew by, as if minutes 
were compressed into moments. At the expiration of that 
period, his labor ceased. He then cut the gripes that had 
kept the launch in its place when the ship was in motion, 
leaving it standing upright on its wooden beds, but in no 
other manner connected with the hull, which, by this time, 
had settled so low as to create the apprehension that, at 
any moment, it might sink from beneath them. After this 
measure of precaution was taken, the females were sum- 
moned to the boat, lest the crisis might be nearer than he 
supposed ; for he well knew that a foundering ship was like 
a tottering wall, liable at any moment to yield to the im- 
pulse of the downward pressure. He then commenced the 
scarcely less necessary operation of selection among the 
chaos of articles with which the ill-directed zeal of his 
companions had so cumbered the boat, that there was hardly 
room to dispose of their more precious persons. Notwith- 
standing the often repeated and vociferous remonstrances 
of the negress, boxes, trunks, and packages flew from the 
launch, Wilder having no consideration for more than their 
ultimate safety. The boat was soon cleared of what, under 


254 


Ube IReb 1Rov>er 


their circumstances, was literally lumber ; leaving, however, 
far more than enough to meet all their wants, and not a 
few of their comforts, in the event that they should escape 
the greedy element. 

Then, and not till then, did the exertions of Wilder 
relax. He had arranged his sails, ready to be hoisted in 
an instant ; he had carefully examined that no straggling 
rope connected the boat to the wreck, to draw them under 
with the foundering mass ; and he had assured himself that 
food, water, compass, and the imperfect instruments that 
were then in use to ascertain the position of a ship, were 
carefully disposed of in their several places, and ready to 
his hand. When all was in a state of preparation, he dis- 
posed of himself in the stern of the boat, and endeavored, 
by the composure of his manner, to inspire his less resolute 
companions with a portion of his own firmness. 

The bright sunshine was sleeping in a thousand places 
on every side of the silent and deserted wreck. The sea 
had long subsided to such a state of rest, that it was only at 
long intervals that the huge and helpless mass on which 
the ark of the expectants lay was lifted from its dull quie- 
tude, to roll heavily, for a moment, in the washing waters, 
and then to settle lower and lower into the absorbing 
element. Still the disappearance of the hull was slow, — it 
was even tedious to those who looked forward with so much 
impatience to its total immersion, as to the crisis of their 
own fortunes. 

During these hours of weary and awful suspense, the 
discourse between the watchers, though conducted in tones 
of confidence, and often of tenderness, was broken by long 
intervals of musing silence. Each forebore to dwell upon 
the danger of their situation, in consideration of the feel- 
ings of the rest ; but neither could conceal the imminent 
risk they ran, from that jealous love of life which was com- 
mon to them all. In this manner, minutes, hours, and the 
day itself, rolled by, and the darkness was seen stealing 
along the deep, gradually narrowing the boundary of their 
view towards the east, until the whole of the empty scene 
was limited to a little dusky circle around the spot on 


Zh e IRefc lRov>cr 


2 55 


which they lay. To this change succeeded another fearful 
hour, during which it appeared that death was about to visit 
them, environed by its most revolting horrors. The heavy 
plunge of the wallowing whale, as he cast his huge form 
upon the surface of the sea, was heard, accompanied by the 
mimic blowings of a hundred imitators that followed in 
the train of the monarch of the ocean. It appeared to 
the alarmed and feverish imagination of Gertrude, that the 
brine was giving up all its monsters ; and notwithstanding 
the calm assurances of Wilder that these accustomed sounds 
were rather the harbingers of peace than signs of any new 
danger, they filled her mind with images of the secret 
recesses over which they seemed suspended by a thread, 
and painted them replete with the disgusting inhabitants 
of the caverns of the deep. The intelligent seaman him- 
self was startled, when he saw on the surface of the water 
the dark fins of the voracious shark stealing around the 
wreck, apprised by his instinct that the contents of the 
devoted vessel were shortly to become the prey of his tribe. 
Then came the moon, with its mild and deceptive light, to 
throw the delusion of its glow on the varying but frightful 
scene. 

“See,” said Wilder, as the luminary lifted its pale and 
melancholy orb out of the bed of the ocean ; “we shall at 
least have light for our hazardous launch ! ” 

. “ Is it at hand ? ” demanded Mrs. Wyllys, summoning all 

the resolution she could in so trying a situation. 

“ It is. The ship has already brought her scuppers to 
the water. Sometimes a vessel will float until saturated with 
the brine. If ours sink at all, it will be soon.” 

“If at all! Is there the smallest hope that she can 
float?” 

“ None ! ” said Wilder, pausing to listen to the hollow 
sounds which issued from the depths of the vessel, as the 
water broke through her divisions, in passing from side to 
side, and which sounded like the groaning of some heavy 
monster in the last agony of nature. “ None ; she is already 
losing her level ! ’ ’ 

His companions saw the change ; but not for the empire 


256 


Ube IReb IRbver 


of the world could either of them have uttered a syllable. 
Another low, threatening, rumbling sound was heard, and 
the pent air beneath blew up the forward part of the deck, 
with an explosion like that of a gun. 

“ Now grasp the ropes I have given you ! ’’cried Wilder, 
breathless with his eagerness to speak. 

His words were smothered by the rushing and gurgling 
of waters. The vessel made a plunge like a dying whale ; 
and, raising its stern high into the air, it glided into the 
depths of the sea, like the leviathan seeking his secret 
place. The motionless boat was lifted with the ship, until 
it stood in an attitude fearfully approaching to the perpen- 
dicular. As the wreck descended, the bows of the launch 
met the element, burying themselves nearly to filling ; but, 
buoyant and light, they rose again, and, struck powerfully 
on the stern by the settling mass, the little ark shot ahead, 
as if driven by the hand of man. Still, as the water rushed 
into the vortex, everything within its influence yielded to 
the suction ; and, at the next instant the launch was seen 
darting down the declivity, as if eager to follow the vast 
machine of which it had so long formed a dependent, through 
the same gaping whirlpool, to the bottom ; but it rose, rock- 
ing, to the surface, and, for the moment, was tossed and 
whirled like a bubble in the eddies of a pool ; after which the 
ocean moaned and slept again. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

“ Every day some sailor’s wife, 

The masters of some merchant, and the merchant, 

Have just our theme of woe.” 

Tempest. 

“ "T IT TK are safe!” said Wilder, who had stood 
\ /\ / with his person firmly braced against a 
V V mast, steadily watching the manner of 
their escape. “Thus far, at least, we are 
safe ; for which may Heaven alone be praised, since no art 
of mine could avail us a feather. ’ ’ 

The females had buried their faces in the folds of the 
vestments and clothes on which they were sitting ; nor did 
even the governess raise her countenance, until twice 
assured by her companion that the imminency of the risk 
was past. Another minute went by, during which Mrs. 
Wyllys and Gertrude were rendering their thanksgivings, 
in a manner and in words less equivocal than the expres- 
sion which had just broken from the lips of the young sea- 
man. When this grateful duty was performed, they stood 
erect, as if emboldened, by the offering, to look their situa- 
tion more steadily in the face. 

On every side lay the seemingly illimitable waste of 
waters. To them, their small and frail tenement was the 
world. So long as the ship, sinking and dangerous as she 
was, remained beneath them, there had appeared to be a 
barrier between their existence and the ocean. A single 
minute had deprived them of even this failing support, and 
they now found themselves cast upon the sea in a vessel 
that might be likened to one of the bubbles of the element. 


258 


Ube IReb IRover 


Gertrude felt, at that instant, that she would have given 
half her hopes in life for the mere sight of the vast and 
nearly untenanted continent which stretched for so many 
thousands of miles along the west, and kept the world of 
waters to their limits. 

But the rush of emotions that belonged to their for- 
lorn condition soon subsided, and their thoughts returned to 
the study of the means necessary to further safety. Wil- 
der had anticipated these feelings ; and, even before Mrs. 
Wyllys and Gertrude recovered their recollections, he was 
occupied, aided by the terrified but loquacious Cassandra, 
in arranging the contents of the boat in such a manner as 
would enable her to move through the element with the 
least possible resistance. 

“ With a well-trimmed ship, and a fair breeze,” cried our 
adventurer cheerfully, so soon as his little task was ended, 
“we may yet hope to reach the land in one day and an- 
other night. I have seen the hour when, in this good 
launch, I would not have hesitated to run the length of the 
American coast, provided — ” 

“You have forgotten your provided,” said Gertrude, 
observing that he hesitated, probably from a reluctance to 
express any exception to the opinion which might increase 
the fears of his companions. 

“Provided it were two months earlier in the year,” he 
added, with less confidence. 

“The season is, then, against us; it only requires the 
greater resolution in ourselves ! ’ * 

Wilder turned his head to regard the fair speaker, whose 
placid countenance, as the moon silvered her features, ex- 
pressed anything but the force necessary to endure the 
hardships he knew she was liable to encounter, before they 
might hope to gain the continent. After musing, he lifted 
his open hand towards the southwest, and held its palm 
some little time to the air of the night. 

‘ ‘ Anything is better than idleness, for people in our con- 
dition,” he said. “ There are some symptoms of the breeze 
coming in this quarter ; I will be ready to meet it.” 

He then spread his two lug-sails ; and, trimming aft the 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


2 59 


sheets, placed himself at the helm, like one who expected 
his services might be shortly needed. The result did 
not disappoint him. Erelong, the light canvas of the boat 
began to flutter ; and then, as he brought the bows in the 
proper direction, the little vessel commenced moving slowly 
along its blind and watery path. 

The wind, charged with the dampness of night, soon 
came fresher upon the sails. Wilder urged the latter 
reason as a motive for the females to seek their rest be- 
neath a little canopy of tarpaulins, which his foresight had 
provided, and on mattresses he had brought from the ship. 
Perceiving that their protector wished to be alone, Mrs. 
Wyllys and her pupil did as desired ; and, in a few minutes, 
if not asleep, no one could have told that any other than 
our adventurer had possession of the solitary launch. 

The middle hour of the night went by, without any 
material change in the prospects of these lonely travellers. 
The wind had freshened to a smart breeze ; and, by the 
calculations of Wilder, he had already moved across several 
leagues of ocean, directly in a line for the eastern end of 
that long and narrow isle that separates the waters which 
wash the shores of Connecticut from those of the open sea. 
The minutes flew swiftly by ; for the time was propitious, 
and the thoughts of the young seaman were busy with the 
recollections of a short but adventurous life. He leaned 
forward to catch the gentle respiration of those who slept. 
Then his form fell back into its seat, and his lip moved as 
he gave inward utterance to the wayward fancies of his 
imagination. But at no time, not even in the midst of his 
greatest abandonment to reverie and thought, did he forget 
the constant and nearly instinctive duties of his station. A 
rapid glance at the heavens, an oblique look at the com- 
pass, and an occasional but more protracted examination 
of the pale face of the melancholy moon, w r ere the usual 
directions taken by his practised eyes. The latter was still 
in the zenith ; and Wilder saw with uneasiness that she 
was shining through an atmosphere without a haze. He 
would have better liked those portentous and watery circles 
by which she is so often environed, and which are thought 


26 o 


Ube IRefc 1 Rover 


to foretell the tempest, than the hard and dry medium 
through which her beams fell so clear upon the face of the 
waters. The humidity with which the breeze had com- 
menced was also gone ; and, in its place, the sensitive 
organs of the seaman detected the often grateful, though at 
that moment unwelcome taint of the land. All these were 
signs that the airs from the continent were about to prevail, 
and (as he dreaded, from certain wild-looking, long, narrow 
clouds, that were gathering over the western horizon) to 
prevail with the force that was usual at that turbulent 
season. 

If any doubts had existed in the mind of Wilder as to 
the accuracy of his prognostics, they would have been 
effectually solved about the commencement of the morning 
watch. At that hour the inconstant breeze began again to 
die ; and, even before its last breathing was felt upon the 
flapping canvas, it was met by counter currents from the 
west. Our mariner saw at once that the struggle was now 
truly to commence, and he made his dispositions accord- 
ingly. The square sheets of duck, which had so long been 
exposed to the mild airs of the south, were reduced to one 
third their original size, by double reefs ; and several of 
the more cumbrous of the remaining articles, such as were 
of doubtful use to persons in their situation, were cast, 
without pausing to hesitate, into the sea. Nor was this 
care without a sufficient object. The air soon came sigh- 
ing heavily over the deep from the northwest, bringing 
with it the chilling asperity of the inhospitable regions of 
the Canadas. 

“Ah ! well do I know you,” muttered Wilder, as the 
first puff of this unwelcome wind struck his sails, and forced 
the little boat to bend to its power in passing ; ‘ ‘ well do I 
know you, with your fresh-water flavor and your smell of 
the land ! Would to God you had blown your fill upon 
the lakes, without coming down to drive many a weary sea- 
man back upon his wake, and to eke out a voyage, already 
too long, by your bitter colds and steady obstinacy ! ’ * 

“ Co you speak ?” said Gertrude, half appearing from 
beneath her canopy, and then shrinking back, shivering, 


tEbe 1Ret» iRover 


261 


into its cover again, as she felt the influence in the change 
of air.” 

“Sleep, lady, sleep,” he answered, for he liked not, at 
such a moment, to be disturbed by even her gentle voice. 

“Is there new danger?” she asked, stepping lightly 
from the mattress, unwilling to disturb the repose of her 
governess. “You need not fear to tell me the worst ; I am 
a soldier’s child ! ” 

He pointed to the signs so well comprehended by himself, 
but continued silent. 

‘ ‘ I feel that the wind is colder than it was, but I see no 
other change.” 

“ And do you know whither the boat is going ? ” 

“To the land, I think. You assured us of that, and I 
do not believe you would willingly deceive.” 

“You do me justice ; as a proof of it, I will now tell 
you that you are mistaken. I know that to your eyes all 
points of the compass, on this void, must seem the same ; 
but I cannot so easily deceive myself.” 

“ And we are not sailing for our homes? ” 

“So far from it, that, should this course continue, we 
must cross the whole Atlantic before we can again see 
land.” 

Gertrude made no reply, but retired, in sorrow, to the 
side of her governess. In the meantime, Wilder, left to 
himself, began to consult his compass and the direction of 
the wind. Perceiving that he might approach nearer to 
the continent of America by changing the position of the 
boat, he wore round, and brought its head as nigh up to 
the southwest as the wind would permit. 

But there was little hope in this trifling change. At 
each minute the power of the breeze was increasing, until 
it freshened to a degree that compelled him to furl his 
after-sail. The slumbering ocean was not long in awaken- 
ing ; and, by the time the launch was snug under a close- 
reefed fore-sail, the boat was rising on the growing waves, 
or sinking into the momentary calm of their furrows. The 
dashing of the waters, and the rushing of the wind, which 
now began to sweep heavily across the waste, drew the 


262 


Ube 1 Heb 1 Rover 


females to the side of their protector. To their hurried 
and anxious questions he made considerate but brief replies, 
answering like a man who felt that the time was better 
suited to action than to words. 

In this manner the lingering minutes of the night went 
by, loaded with a care that each moment rendered heavier, 
and which each successive freshening of the breeze had a 
tendency to render more and more anxious. The day 
came, only to give more distinctness to the cheerless pros- 
pect. The waves were looking green and angrily, while, 
here and there, large crests of foam were beginning to 
break on their summits — the certain evidence that a con- 
flict betwixt the elements was at hand. Then came the 
sun over the ragged margin of the eastern horizon, climb- 
ing slowly into the blue arch above, which lay clear, chill- 
ing, distinct, and without a cloud. 

Wilder noted all these changes with a closeness that 
proved how critical he deemed their case. He seemed 
rather to consult the signs of the heavens than to regard 
the tossings and rushings of the water, which dashed 
against the sides of his little vessel in a manner that often 
appeared to threaten their total destruction. To the latter, 
however, he was too much accustomed to anticipate the true 
moment of alarm, though to the less instructed senses of 
his companions it already seemed so dangerous. It was to 
him as is the thunder when compared to the lightning, in 
the mind of the philosopher; or, rather, he knew that 
if harm might come from the one on which he floated, its 
ability to injure must first be called into action by the power 
of the sister element. 

“What do you think of our case now?” asked Mrs. 
Wyllys, keeping her look fastened on his countenance, as 
if she would rather trust to its expression, than even to his 
words, for the answer. 

“So long as the wind continues thus, we may yet hope 
to keep within the route of ships to and from the great 
northern ports; but, if it freshen to a gale, and the sea 
begin to break with violence, I doubt the ability of this 
boat to lie- to.” 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


263 

Then our resource must be in endeavoring to run before 
the gale ? ’ ’ 

“ Then we must scud.” 

“What would be our direction, in such an event?” 
demanded Gertrude, to whose mind, in the agitation of the 
ocean, and the naked view on every hand, all idea of 
places and distances were lost in the most inextricable con. 
fusion. 

‘ ‘ In such an event, ’ ’ returned our adventurer, regarding 
her with a look in which commiseration and indefinite con- 
cern were so singularly mingled, that her own mild gaze 
was changed into a timid and furtive glance, ‘ ‘ in such an 
event we should be leaving that land it is so important to 
reach.” 

“What ’em ’ere?” cried Cassandra, whose large dark 
eyes were rolling on every side of her, with a curiosity that 
no care or sense of danger could extinguish; “’em berry 
big fish on a water ? ’ ’ 

“ It is a boat ! ” cried Wilder, springing upon a thwart, 
to catch a glimpse of a dark object that was driving on the 
glittering crest of a wave, within a hundred feet of the spot 
where the launch itself was struggling through the brine. 
“ What, ho ! — boat, ahoy ! — helloa there ! — boat, ahoy ! ” 

The breathing of the wind swept by them, but no human 
sound answered his shout. They had already fallen between 
two seas, into a deep vale of water, where the narrow 
view extended no farther than the rolling barriers on each 
side. 

“ Merciful Providence !” exclaimed the governess, “can 
there be others as unhappy as ourselves? ” 

“ It was a boat, or my sight is not as true as usual,” re- 
turned Wilder, still keeping his stand, to watch the moment 
when he might catch another view. His watch was quickly 
realized. He had trusted the helm to the hands of Cassan- 
dra, who suffered the launch to vary a little from its course. 
The words were still on his lips, when the same black object 
came sweeping down the wave to windward, and a pinnace, 
bottom upwards, washed past them in the trough. Then 
followed a shriek from the negress, who abandoned the til- 


264 


ftfoe IRefc IRover 


ler, and, sinking on her knees, hid her face in her hands. 
Wilder instinctively caught the helm, bending his look at 
the same time in the direction of the object from which the 
eye of Cassandra had revolted. A human form was seen, 
erect, and half exposed, advancing in the midst of the broken 
crest which was still covering the dark declivity to windward 
with foam. For a moment it stood with the brine dripping 
from the drenched locks, like some being that had issued 
from the deep to turn its frightful features on the spectators ; 
and then the lifeless body of a drowned man drove past the 
launch. 

Not only Wilder, but Gertrude and Mrs. Wyllys had 
seen this startling spectacle so nigh them as to recognize the 
grim countenance of Knighthead, rendered stern and for- 
bidding by death. Neither spoke nor gave any other evi- 
dence of their intelligence. Wilder hoped that his com- 
panions had at least escaped the shock of recognizing the 
victim ; and the females themselves saw, in the hapless 
fortune of the mutineer, too much of their own probable 
though more protracted fate, to be able to give vent to the 
horror they felt in words. For some time, the elements 
were heard sighing a sort of hoarse requiem over their vic- 
tims. 

“ The pinnace has filled ! ” Wilder at length ventured to 
say, when he saw by the pallid features of his companions 
that it was useless to affect reserve any longer. “Their 
boat was frail, and loaded to the water’s edge.” 

“Think you all are lost?” observed Mrs. Wyllys, in a 
voice that scarcely amounted to a whisper. ‘ ‘ All ! not even 
a soul escaped ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ There is no hope for any ! Gladly would I part with 
an arm for the assistance of the poorest of those misguided 
seamen, who have hurried on their evil fortune by their 
own disobedience and ignorance.” 

“ And of all the happy and thoughtless human beings 
who so lately left the harbor of Newport, we alone remain ! ” 

“ There is not another ; this boat, and its contents, are the 
sole memorials of the Royal Caroline ! ” 

“ It was not within the ken of human knowledge to fore- 


Ube IReb IRover 


265 


see this evil ? ’ ’ continued the governess, fastening her eye 
on the countenance of Wilder, as if she would ask a question 
which conscience told her, at the same time, betrayed a por- 
tion of that very superstition which had hastened the fate 
of the rude being they had so lately passed. 

* ‘ It was not. ’ ’ 

“ And the danger to which you so often and so inexplic- 
ably alluded had no reference to this we have incurred ? ’ ’ 

“ It had not.” 

‘ ‘ It has gone with the change in our situation ? ’ ’ 

“ I hope it has.” 

“ See ! ” interrupted Gertrude, laying a hand, in her haste, 
on the arm of Wilder. “ Heaven be praised ! yonder is 
something at last to relieve the view.” 

“ It is a ship ! ” exclaimed her governess ; but, an envious 
wave lifting its green side between them and the object, they 
sank into a trough, as if the vision had been placed momen- 
tarily before their eyes, merely to taunt them with its image. 
Wilder had caught, however, a glimpse of the well-known 
outlines of a ship against the heavens, as they descended. 
When the boat rose again, his look was properly directed, 
and he was enabled to be certain of the reality of the vessel. 
Wave succeeded wave, and moments followed moments, dur- 
ing which the stranger as often appeared and disappeared as 
the launch unavoidably rose and fell with the seas. These 
short and hasty glimpses sufficed, however, to convey all that 
was necessary to one who had been nurtured on that element 
where circumstances now exacted of him such constant and 
unequivocal evidence of his skill. 

At the distance of a mile there was a ship rolling and 
pitching gracefully, and without any apparent shock, on 
those waves through which the launch was struggling with 
so much difficulty. A solitary sail was set to steady the 
vessel, and that so reduced by reefs, as to look like a little 
snowy cloud waving in the air. At times her tapering masts 
appeared pointing to the zenith, or rolling as if inclining 
against the wind ; and then, again, with slow and graceful 
sweeps, they seemed to fall towards the ruffled surface of the 
ocean, as if to seek refuge from their endless motion in the 


266 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


bosom of the agitated element itself. There were moments 
when the long, low, and black hull was seen distinctly 
resting on the summit of a sea, and glittering in the sun- 
beams, with the water washing from her sides ; and then, 
as boat and vessel sank together, all was lost to the eye, 
even to the attenuated lines of her tallest and most delicate 
spars. 

Both Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude bowed their faces to their 
knees, when assured of the truth of their hopes, and poured 
out their gratitude in silent and secret thanksgivings. The 
joy of Cassandra was more clamorous, and less restrained. 
The simple negress laughed, shed tears, and exulted, on the 
prospect that was now offered for the escape of her young 
mistress and herself from a death that the recent sight had 
set before her imagination in the most frightful form. But 
no answering look of congratulation was to be traced in the 
anxious eye of their companion. 

“ Now,” said Mrs. Wyllys, seizing his hand in both her 
own, ‘ ‘ we may surely hope to be delivered ; and then will 
follow, brave and excellent young man, an opportunity of 
proving how highly we rate your services.” 

Wilder permitted this burst of feeling, but he neither 
spoke, nor exhibited himself the smallest sympathy in her 
joy. 

“Surely you are not grieved, Mr. Wilder,” added the 
wondering Gertrude, “ that the prospect of escape from 
these awful waves is at length so mercifully held forth 
to us ? ” 

“ I would gladly die to shelter you from harm,” returned 
the young sailor ; ‘ ‘ but — ’ ’ 

“This is not a time for anything but gratitude,” inter- 
rupted the governess ; “I cannot hearken to any cold ex- 
ceptions now ; what means that ‘ but ’ ? ” 

“ It may not be as easy as you think to reach the ship — 
the gale may prevent — in short, many is the vessel that is 
seen at sea which cannot be spoken.” 

‘ ‘ Happily, such is not our cruel fortune. I understand 
you wish to dampen hopes that may possibly be thwarted ; 
but I have too long and too often trusted this dangerous 


Ube 1Ret> iRover 


267 


element, not to know that he who has the advantage of 
being to windward can speak, or not, as he shall please.” 

“You are right in saying we are to windward; and, 
were I in a ship, nothing would be easier than to run within 
hail of the stranger. That ship is certainly lying-to, and 
yet the gale is not fresh enough to bring so stout a vessel 
to so short canvas.” 

“ They see us, then, and await our arrival ? ” 

“ No, no ; thank God, we are not yet seen ! This little 
rag of ours is blended with the .spray. They take it for a 
gull, or a comb of the sea, for the moment it is in view.” 

“And do you thank Heaven for this?” exclaimed 
Gertrude, regarding the anxious Wilder with a wonder 
that her more cautious governess had the power to re- 
strain. 

‘ ‘ Did I thank Heaven for not being seen ? I may have 
mistaken the object of my thanks. It is an armed ship ! ” 

“Perhaps a cruiser of the king’s? We are the more 
likely to meet with a welcome reception. Delay not to 
hoist some signal, lest they increase their sails and leave 
us.” 

“You forget that the enemy is often found upon our 
coast. This might prove a Frenchman ! ” 

“I have no fears of a generous enemy. Even a pirate 
would give shelter, and welcome, to females in our dis- 
tress.” 

A profound silence succeeded. Wilder still stood upon 
the thwart, straining his eyes to read each sign that a sea- 
man understands ; nor did he appear to find much pleasure 
in the task. 

“We will draw ahead,” he said; “and, as the ship is 
lying on a different tack, we may gain a position that will 
leave us masters of our movements. 

To this his companions knew not well how to make any 
objection. Mrs. Wvllys was so much struck with the re- 
markable air of coldness with which he met this prospect 
of refuge against the forlorn condition in which he had just 
before confessed they were placed, that she was much more 
disposed to ponder on the cause than to trouble him with 


268 


Ube 1 Reb 1Ro\>er 


questions she had the discernment to see would be useless. 
Gertrude wondered, while she was disposed to think he 
might be right, though she knew not why. Cassandra 
alone was rebellious. She made stout objections against 
even a moment’s delay, assuring the inattentive young sea- 
man, that, should any evil come to her young mistress by 
his obstinacy, General Grayson would be angered ; and she 
left him to reflect on the results of a displeasure that to her 
simple mind teemed with more danger than would attend the 
resentment of a monarch. Provoked by his contumacious 
disregard of her remonstrances, the negress, forgetting her 
respect, and blinded by her fears for her whom she not only 
loved, but had been taught to reverence, seized the boat- 
hook, and, unperceived by Wilder, fastened to it one of the 
linen cloths that had been brought from the wreck, exposing 
the fluttering drapery above the diminished sail, ere her 
device caught the attention of her companions. Then, 
indeed, she lowered the signal, before the dark look of 
Wilder. Short as was the triumph of the negress, it was 
crowned with success. 

The restrained silence, which is so apt to succeed a sud- 
den burst of displeasure, was still reigning in the boat, when 
a cloud of smoke broke out of the side of the ship, the dead- 
ened roar of artillery, struggling heavily up against the 
wind, immediately after. 

“ It is now too late to hesitate,” said Mrs. Wyllys ; “we 
are seen, let the stranger be friend or enemy.” 

Wilder did not answer, but continued to watch the move- 
ments of the stranger. In another moment, the spars were 
seen receding from the breeze, and, in a couple of minutes 
more, the head of the ship was changed to the direction in 
which they lay. Four or five broader sheets of canvas 
appeared in different parts of the complicated machinery, 
while the vessel inclined to the breeze. As she mounted on 
the seas, her bows seemed issuing from the element alto- 
gether, and high jets of glittering spray were cast into the 
air, falling in gems upon the sails and rigging. 

“It is now too late, indeed,” murmured our adventurer, 
bearing up the helm of his own little craft, and letting its 


Ube IReb IRover 


sheet slip through his hands, until the sail was bagging with 
the breeze nearly to bursting. The boat which had so long 
been laboring through the water, with a wish to cling as 
nigh as possible to the continent, flew over the seas, leaving 
a long trail of foam behind ; and, before either of the fe- 
males had regained their entire self-possession, she was 
floating in the comparative calm that the hull of a large 
vessel never fails to create. A light form stood in the rig- 
ging of the ship, issuing the necessary orders for her ma- 
noeuvres ; and, in the midst of the confusion and alarm that 
such a scene was likely to cause in the bosom of woman, 
Gertrude and Mrs. Wyllys, with their two companions, were 
transferred in safety to the decks of the stranger. The mo- 
ment they and their effects were secured, the launch was cut 
adrift, like useless lumber. Twenty mariners were then 
seen climbing among the ropes ; and sail after sail was 
opened still wider, until, bearing the vast folds of all her 
canvas spread, the vessel was urged along her trackless 
course, like a swift cloud drifting through the thin medium 
of the upper air. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

“ Now let it work : Mischief, thou art afoot, 

Take then what course thou wilt ! ” 

Shakespeare. 

W HEN the velocity with which the vessel flew 
before the wind is properly considered, the 
reader will not be surprised to learn that, 
at the end of a week from the time when the 
foregoing incidents close, we are enabled to open the scene 
of the present chapter in a very different quarter of the 
same sea. It is unnecessary to follow the Rover in the 
windings of his devious and uncertain course, during which 
his keel furrowed more than a thousand miles of ocean, 
eluding more than one cruiser of the king, and avoiding 
sundry less dangerous rencounters, as much from inclination 
as any other visible cause. It is sufficient for our purpose 
to lift the curtain which must conceal her movements during 
this week, when the gallant vessel is in a milder climate, and, 
the season of the year considered, in a more propitious sea. 

Exactly seven days after Gertrude and her governess 
became the inmates of a ship, whose character it is no 
longer necessary to conceal from the reader, though it 
remained a secret from the females, the sun rose upon her 
flapping sails, symmetrical spars, and dark hull, within sight 
of a few low, small, and rocky islands. The color of the 
element would have told a seaman, had no mound of blue 
land been seen in the west, that the bottom of the sea was 
heaving up nearer to its surface, and that it was necessary 
to guard against the known and dreaded dangers of a coast. 
Wind there was none ; for the vacillating and uncertain air 

270 


Ubc iRet> iRovec 


271 


which from time to time distended the lighter canvas of 
the vessel was the breathing of a morning that was break- 
ing upon the main, so soft, mild, and bland as to impart to 
the sleeping ocean the appearance of a placid lake. 

Everything having life in the ship was up and stirring. 
Fifty stout and healthy-looking seamen were hanging in 
different parts of her rigging, some laughing and holding 
low converse with messmates who lay indolently on the 
neighboring spars, and others leisurely performing the light 
duty that was the ostensible employment of the moment. 
More than as many others loitered carelessly about the 
decks below, somewhat similarly engaged ; the whole having 
the appearance of men who were set to perform their trivial 
tasks more to escape the imputation of idleness than from 
any actual necessity of their being executed. The quarter- 
deck, the hallowed spot of every vessel that pretends to 
discipline, was occupied by a set of seamen who could not 
lay much greater claim to activity. In short, the vessel 
partook of the character of the ocean and of the weather, 
both of which seemed to be reserving their powers to some 
occasion more suitable for their display. 

Three or four young (and, considering the nature of their 
service, far from unpleasant looking) men appeared in a 
sort of undress nautical uniform, in which the fashion of no 
people in particular was very studiously consulted. Not- 
withstanding the calm that reigned on all around them, each 
of them wore a short straight dirk at his girdle ; and, as 
one of them bent over the side of the vessel, the handle of 
a little pistol was discovered through an opening in the folds 
of his professional frock. There were, however, no other 
immediate signs of distrust, by which an observer might 
infer that this armed precaution was more than the usual 
custom of the ship. A couple of grim and callous-looking 
sentinels, attired and accoutred like soldiers of the land, 
contrary to marine usage, were posted on the line which 
separated the place sacred to uses of the officers from the 
forward part of the deck, bespeaking additional caution. 
Still, these arrangements were regarded by the seamen with 
incurious eyes— a proof that use had rendered them familiar. 


272 


Ube IRefc Iftover 


The individual who has been introduced to the reader 
under the high-sounding title of general, stood, upright and 
rigid as one of the masts of the ship, studying with a criti- 
cal eye the equipments of his two mercenaries, and appar- 
ently as regardless of what was passing around him, as if he 
literally considered himself a fixture. One form, however, 
was to be distinguished from all around it, by the air of 
authority that breathed even in its repose. It was the 
Rover. He stood alone, none presuming to approach the 
spot where he had chosen to plant his person. There was 
a constant expression of investigation in his wandering eye, 
as it roved from object to object in the equipment of the 
vessel ; and, at moments, as his eye examined the blue vac- 
uum above him, the cloud that denotes a seaman’s responsi- 
bility gathered about his brow. This lowering look became 
so marked, at times, that the fair hair which broke out in 
ringlets from beneath a black velvet sea-cap, from whose 
top depended a tassel of gold, could no longer impart to his 
countenance the gentleness which formed its natural expres- 
sion in moments of quiet. Disdaining concealment, and as if 
he wished to announce the nature of the power he wielded, he 
wore his pistols openly in a leathern belt, through which he 
had thrust, with the same disregard of concealment, a light 
and curved yataghan, which, by the chasings of its handle, had 
probably come from the manufactory of an Kastern artisan. 

On the deck of the poop, overlooking the rest, and re- 
tired from the crowd beneath, stood Mrs. Wyllys and her 
charge, neither of whom announced, in the slightest degree, 
by eye or air, that anxiety which might be supposed natural 
to females who found themselves in a condition so critical 
as that in which they were. On the contrary, while the 
former pointed out to the latter the hillock of pale blue 
which rose from the water, like a dark and strongly defined 
cloud in the distance, hope was strongly blended with the 
ordinary expression of her features. She also called to 
Wilder, in a cheerful voice ; and the youth, who had long 
been standing, with a sort of jealous watchfulness, at the 
foot of the ladder which led from the quarter-deck, was at 
her side in an instant. 


Ube 1 Reb lRo\>er 


273 


I am telling Gertrude,” said the governess, “ that yon- 
der is her home ; that when the breeze shall be felt, we may 
speedily hope to reach it ; but the wilfully timid girl insists 
that she cannot believe her senses, after the frightful risks 
we have run, until, at least, she shall see the dwelling of 
her childhood, and the face of her father. You have often 
been on this coast before, Mr. Wilder?” 

“Often, madam.” 

“ Then, you can tell us the name of the distant land we 
see ? ’ ’ 

Tand ! ’ ’ repeated our adventurer, affecting a look of 
surprise ; “is there land in view? ” 

‘ ‘ Is there land in view ! Have not hours gone by since 
it was proclaimed from the masts ? ” 

“It may be so. We seamen are dull after a night of 
watching, and we often hear but little of what passes.” 

A suspicious glance was shot from the eye of the gov- 
erness, as if she apprehended she knew not what. 

Has the sight of the cheerful, blessed soil of America, 
so soon lost its charm in your eye, that you approach it 
with so heedless an air ? The infatuation of men of your 
profession, in favor of so dangerous and so treacherous an 
element, is an enigma I never could explain.” 

“Do seamen, then, really love their calling with so de- 
voted an affection ? ’ ’ innocently demanded Gertrude. 

“ It is a folly of which we are at least accused,” rejoined 
Wilder, turning his eye on the speaker, and smiling in a 
manner that had lost every shade of reserve. 

“And justly ?” 

“ I fear, justly.” 

“Too justly ! ” said Mrs. Wyllys, with emphasis ; “bet- 
ter than their quiet and peaceful homes ! ” 

Gertrude pursued the idea no further ; but her eye fell 
to the deck, as if she reflected on a perversity of taste which 
could render man so insensible to domestic pleasures, and 
incline him to court the dangers of which she had been a 
witness. 

“I, at least, am free from the latter charge,” exclaimed 
Wilder. ‘ ‘ A ship has always been my home.” 

18 


274 


TC be IRefc 1Ro\>er 


“ Much of my life, too, has been wasted in one,” contin- 
ued the governess, who was pursuing, in her own mind, 
some images of a time long past. “ Happy and miserable, 
alike, have been the hours that I have passed upon the sea ! 
Nor is this the first king’s ship in which it has been my for- 
tune to be thrown. And yet the customs seem changed 
since the days I mean ; or else my memory is beginning to 
lose some of the impressions of an age when memory is apt 
to be most tenacious. Is it usual, for instance, Mr. Wilder, 
to admit an utter stranger, like yourself, to exercise author- 
ity in a vessel of war ? ’ ’ 

“ Certainly not.” 

“ And yet you have been acting, as far as my recollections 
are true, as second here, since the moment we entered this 
vessel, wrecked and helpless fugitives from the waves.” 

Our adventurer again averted his eye, and evidently 
searched for words, ere he replied, — 

“ A commission is always respected. Mine procured for 
me the consideration you have witnessed. ’ ’ 

“You are then an officer of the crown ? ” 

“ Would any other authority be respected in a vessel of 
the crown ? Death had left a vacancy in the second station 
of this — cruiser. Fortunately for the wants of the service, 
perhaps for myself, I was at hand to fill it. ’ ’ 

“ But, tell me further,” continued the governess, who ap- 
peared disposed to profit by the occasion to solve more 
doubts than one, “is it usual for the officers of a vessel of 
war to appear armed among their crew, in the manner I see 
here? ” 

“ It is the pleasure of our commander.” 

That commander is evidently a skilful seaman ; but 
his caprices and tastes are as extraordinary as his mien. I 
have surely seen him before ; and, it would seem, but 
lately.” 

Mrs. Wyllys was silent for several minutes. During the 
whole time, her eye was never averted from the form of the 
calm and motionless being who still maintained his attitude 
of repose, aloof from all that throng whom he had the ad- 
dress to render so entirely dependent on his authority. The 


Ube *IReb IRover 


275 


governess studied the smallest peculiarity of his person, as 
if she would never tire of her gaze. Drawing a heavy and 
relieving breath, she remembered, however, that she was 
not alone, and that others were silently awaiting the process 
of her thoughts. Without manifesting embarrassment at an 
absence of mind that was far too common to surprise her 
pupil, she resumed the discourse where she had herself 
dropped it, turning again towards Wilder. 

“Is Captain Heidegger an old acquaintance ?” she de- 
manded. 

“ We have met before.” 

“ It should be a name of German origin by the sound. 
I am certain it is new to me. And yet there was a time 
when few officers of his rank were unknown to me, at least 
by name. Is his family of long standing in England ? ’ ’ 

“That is a question he may better answer himself,” said 
Wilder, glad to perceive that the subject of their discourse 
was approaching. “For the moment, madam, my duty calls 
me elsewhere.” 

Wilder withdrew with reluctance ; and, had suspicion 
been active in the breasts of either of his companions, they 
would not have failed to note the glance of distrust with 
which he watched the manner of his commander in making 
his salutations. There was nothing, however, in the air of 
the Rover that should have given ground to so much jeal- 
ous vigilance. On the contrary, he was cold and abstracted, 
appearing to mingle in their discourse, more from a sense of 
the obligations of hospitality, than from any satisfaction that 
he might derive from the intercourse. Still, his deportment 
was kind, and his voice bland as the airs that were wafted 
from the healthful islands in view. 

“ There is a sight,” he said, pointing towards the low blue 
ridges of the land, “ that forms the landsman’s delight, and 
the seaman’s terror.” 

“ Are seamen so averse to the view of regions where so 
many millions of their fellow-creatures find pleasure in 
dwelling?” demanded Gertrude (to whom he more partic- 
ularly addressed his words), with a frankness that would, 
in itself, have sufficiently proved no glimmerings of his real 


27 6 


ftfoe 1Re5 IPvOrer 


character had ever dawned on her spotless and unsuspicious 
mind. 

“ Miss Grayson included,” he returned, with a slight bow, 
and a smile, in which, perhaps, irony was concealed by 
playfulness. “After the risk you have run, even I, con- 
firmed and obstinate sea-monster as I am, have no reason 
to complain of your distaste for our element. And yet, 
you see, it is not entirely without its charms. No lake, 
that lies within the limits of yonder continent, can be more 
calm and sweet than this bit of ocean. Were we a few 
degrees more southward, I would show you landscapes of 
rock and mountain — of bays, and of hill-sides sprinkled 
with verdure — of tumbling whales, and lazy fishermen, and 
distant cottages, and lagging sails — that would make a 
figure even in pages that the bright eye of a lady might 
love to read.” 

‘ ‘ And yet for most of your picture would you be indebted 
to the land. In return for this sketch, I would take you 
north, and show you black and threatening clouds — a green 
and angry sea — shipwrecks and shoals — cottages, hill- 
sides, and mountains, in the imagination only of the drown- 
ing man — and sails bleached by waters that contain the 
voracious shark, or the disgusting polypus.” 

Gertrude had answered in his own vein ; but it was too 
evident from a tremor that stole into her voice, that mem- 
ory was also busy with its frightful images. The Rover 
was not slow to detect the change. Desirous of banishing 
every recollection that might give her pain, he artfully, but 
delicately, gave a new direction to the discourse. 

‘ ‘ There are people who think the sea has no amuse- 
ments,” he said. “To a pining, homesick, seasick, miser- 
able lubber, this may be true enough ; but the man who has 
sufficient spirit to keep down the qualms of the animal, may 
tell a different tale. We have our balls regularly, for in- 
stance ; and there are artists on board this ship, who, though 
they cannot, perhaps, make as accurate a right-angle with 
their legs as the first dancer of a ballet, can go through 
their figures in a gale of wind ; which is more than can be 
said of the highest jumper of them all on shore.” 


Ube iReb iRover 


277 


“ A ball, without females, would, at least, be thought an 
unsocial amusement, with us uninstructed people of terra 
firma .” 

‘ ‘ Hum ! It might be all the better for a lady or two. 
Then have we our theatre. Farce, comedy, and the bus- 
kin, take their turns to help along the time. Yon fellow, 
that you see lying on the fore- top-sail-yard, like an indolent 
serpent basking on the branch of a tree, will ‘ roar you as 
gently as any sucking-dove ! ’ And here is a votary of 
Momus, who would raise a smile on the lips of a sea-sick 
friar. I believe I can say no more in his commendation.” 

“All this is well in the description,” returned Mrs. 
Wyllys ; “ but something is due to the merit of the — poet 
or painter shall I term you ? ’ ’ 

“ Neither, but a grave and veritable chronologer. How- 
ever, since you doubt, and since you are so new to the 
ocean — * ’ 

“ Pardon me!” the lady gravely interrupted. “ On the 
contrary, I have seen much of it.” 

The Rover, who had rather suffered his unsettled glances 
to wander over the youthful countenance of Gertrude than 
towards her companion, now bent his eyes on the last 
speaker, where he kept them fastened so long as to create 
some little embarrassment in the subject of his gaze. 

“You seem surprised that the time of a female should 
have been thus employed,” she observed, with a view to 
arouse his attention to the impropriety of his observation. 

“ We were speaking of the sea, if I remember,” he con- 
tinued, like a man that was suddenly awakened from a 
reverie. ‘ ‘ Ay, I know it was of the sea ; for I had grown 
boastful in my panegyrics ; I had told you that this ship 
was faster than — ’ ’ 

“ Nothing ! ” exclaimed Gertrude, laughing at his blun- 
der. “ You were playing master of ceremonies at a nautical 
ball.” 

“Will you figure in a minuet? Will you honor my 
boards with the graces of your person ? ’ ’ 

“I, sir? and with whom? With the gentleman who 
knows so well the manner of keeping his feet in a gale ? ” 


278 


Ube IReb IRcwer 


“ You were about to relieve any doubts we might have 
concerning the amusements of seamen,” said the governess, 
reproving the too playful spirit of her pupil, by a glance of 
her grave eye. 

“ Ay, it was the humor of the moment, nor will I balk it.” 

He turned to Wilder, who had posted himself within ear- 
shot of what was passing, and continued, — 

‘‘These ladies doubt our gayety, Mr. Wilder. L,et the 
boatswain give the magical wind of his call, and pass the 
w r ord, ‘ To mischief,’ among the people.” 

Our adventurer bowed his acquiescence, and issued the 
order. In a few moments, the individual who made ac- 
quaintance with the reader in the bar-room of the “ Foul 
Anchor ” appeared in the centre of the vessel, near the main 
hatchway, decorated as before with his silver chain and 
whistle, and accompanied by two mates, who were humbler 
scholars of the same gruff school. A long, shrill whistle 
followed from the instrument of Nightingale, who, when the 
sound had died away on the ear, roared, in his least sono- 
rous tones, — 

‘ ‘ All hands to mischief, ahoy ! ’ ’ 

We have before had occasion to liken these sounds to 
the muttering of a bull, nor shall we see fit to disturb the 
comparison, since no other similitude so apt presents itself. 
The example of the boatswain was followed by each of his 
mates in turn, when the summons was deemed sufficient. 
However unintelligible and grum the call might sound in 
the ears of Gertrude, it produced no unpleasant effects on 
the organs of a majority of those who heard it. When the 
first note of the call mounted on the air, each idle and 
extended young seaman, as he lay stretched upon a spar, or 
hung dangling from a ratline, lifted his head, to catch the 
words that were to follow, as an obedient spaniel pricks his 
ears to catch his master’s voice. But no sooner was the 
emphatic word pronounced, which preceded the long-drawn 
and customary exclamation with which Nightingale closed 
his summons, than the low murmur of voices, which had so 
long been maintained among the men, broke out in a com- 
mon shout. Fvery symptom of lethargy disappeared in an 


TEbe IReb IRover 


279 


instant. The young and nimble top-men bounded into the 
rigging of their respective masts, ascending the shaking 
ladders of ropes like so many squirrels hastening to their 
holes at the signal of alarm. The graver and heavier sea- 
men of the forecastle, the quarter-gunners and quarter-mas- 
ters, the less instructed and half-startled waisters, and the 
raw and actually alarmed after-guard, all hurried, by a sort 
of instinct, to their several points ; the more practised to 
plot mischief against their shipmates, and the less intelli- 
gent, conscious of their ignorance, to concert the means of 
defence. 

In an instant, the tops and yards were ringing with 
laughter and jokes, as each exulting mariner aloft pro- 
claimed his device to his fellows, or urged his own inventions 
at the expense of some less ingenious mode of annoyance. 
On the other hand, the distrustful and often repeated 
glances that were thrown upward, from the men who had 
clustered on the quarter-deck and around the foot of the 
mainmast, sufficiently proclaimed the diffidence with which 
the novices on deck were about to enter into the ex- 
pected contest of practical wit. The steady and more 
earnest seamen forward, however, maintained their places 
with a stern resolution which proved their reliance on their 
physical force, and on their long familiarity with the 
humors, as well as with the dangers of the ocean. 

Another little cluster of men assembled, in the midst of 
the general clamor and confusion, with a haste and steadi- 
ness that announced both a consciousness of the entire ne- 
cessity of unity on the present occasion, and the habit of 
acting in concert. These were the drilled and military 
dependents of the general, between whom and the less arti- 
ficial seamen there existed not only an antipathy that might 
almost be called instinctive, but which, for obvious reasons, 
had been so strongly encouraged in the vessel of which we 
write, as often to manifest itself in turbulent and nearly 
mutinous broils. About twenty in number, they collected 
quickly ; and, although obliged to dispense with their fire- 
arms in such an amusement, there was a sternness in the 
visage of each of the whiskered worthies, that showed how 


Ube IReb IRover 


280 


readily he could appeal to the bayonet that was suspended 
from his shoulder, should there be need. Their commander 
withdrew, with the rest of the officers, to the poop, in order 
that their presence should prove no incumbrance to the 
freedom of the sports. 

A couple of minutes might have been lost in producing 
the different changes we have just related. But, so soon 
as the top-men were sure that no unfortunate laggard of 
their party was within reach of the resentment of the dif- 
ferent groups beneath, they complied literally with the sum- 
mons of the boatswain, by commencing their mischief. 

Sundry buckets, most of which had been provided for 
the extinction of fire, were quickly pendent from as many 
whips 1 on the outer extremity of the different yards, and 
descending towards the sea. In spite of the awkward 
opposition of the men below, these leathern vessels were 
speedily filled and run up to the yards again. Many a 
gaping waister and rigid marine now made a more familiar 
acquaintance with the element on which he had enlisted 
than suited either his convenience or his humor. So long 
as the jokes were confined to these semi-initiated tyros, 
the top-men enjoyed the fun with impunity ; but, the instant 
the dignity of a quarter-gunner’s person was invaded, the 
whole gang of petty officers and forecastle-men rose in a 
body to resent the insult. They made their retort with a 
readiness and dexterity that manifested how much at home 
the elder mariners were in all that belonged to their art. 
A small fire-engine was transferred to the head, and brought 
to bear on the nearest top, like a well-planted battery clear- 
ing the way for the expected charge. The laughing and 
chattering top-men were soon dispersed ; some ascending 
beyond the power of the engine, and others retreating into 
the neighboring top, along ropes and across giddy heights 
that would have seemed inpracticable to any animal less 
agile than a squirrel or a monkey. 

The marines were now summoned forward by the suc- 
cessful and malicious mariners, to improve their advantage. 

’A rope rove through a single block is termed a “whip” in 
nautical language. 


XT be iReb IRorec 


28 l 


Thoroughly drenched already, and eager to resent their 
wrongs, a half-dozen of the soldiers, led on by a corporal, 
the coating of whose powdered poll had been converted 
into a sort of paste by too great an intimacy with a bucket 
of water, essayed to mount the rigging ; an exploit that to 
them was much more arduous than it would have been to 
enter a breach. The waggish quarter-gunners and quarter- 
masters, satisfied with their own success, stimulated them to 
the enterprise ; and Nightingale and his mates, while they 
rolled their tongues into their cheeks, gave forth with their 
whistles the cheering sound of ‘ ‘ Heave away ! ’ ’ The sight 
of these adventurers, slowly and cautiously mounting the 
rigging, acted on the scattered top-men very much in the 
manner that the appearance of so many flies, in the vicinity 
of a web, is known to act on their concealed and rapacious 
enemy the spider. The sailors aloft understood, by expres- 
sive glances from those below, that a soldier was considered 
legal game. No sooner, therefore, had the latter fairly 
entered into the toils, than twenty top-men rushed out upon 
them, in order to make sure of their prizes. In an incred- 
ibly short space of time, the assailants were captured to a 
man. 

Two or three of the aspiring adventurers were lashed 
where they had been found, unable to make any resistance 
in a spot where instinct itself irresistibly urged them to 
devote both hands to the necessary duty of holding fast ; 
while the rest were transferred, by means of whips, to dif- 
ferent spars, very much in the manner that a light sail or a 
yard would have been swayed into its place. 

In the midst of the clamorous rejoicings that attended 
this success, one individual made himself conspicuous for 
the gravity and business-like air with which he performed 
his particular part of the comedy. Seated on the outer 
end of the lower yard, with as much steadiness as if he 
had been placed on an ottoman, he was gravely occupied in 
examining into the condition of a captive, who had been 
run up at his feet, with an order from the waggish captain 
of the top, to “ turn-him-in for a jewel- block ” ; an appel- 
lation that is given to the blocks that are pendent from the 


282 


Ube IReb IRover 


ends of certain yards, and which appears to have been taken 
from the precious stones that are so often seen dangling from 
the ears of the fair. 

“ Ay, ay,” muttered this deliberate and grave-looking 
tar, who was no other than Richard Fid, ‘‘the stropping 
you ’ve sent up with the fellow is none of the best ; and, if 
he squeaks so now, what will he do when you come to reeve 
a rope through him ! By the Ford, masters, you should 
have furnished the lad with a better outfit, if you meant to 
send him into good company aloft. Here are more holes in 
his jacket than there are cabin windows to a Chinese junk. 
Hilloa ! — on deck there ! — you Guinea, pick me up a tailor, 
and send him aloft to. keep the wind put of this waister’s 
tarpaulin.” ^ 

The athletic African, who, on account of his great 
strength, had been posted on the forecastle, cast an eye up- 
ward, and, with both arms thrust into his r bosom, he rolled 
along the deck, with just as serious a mien as if he had been 
sent on a duty of the gravest kind. The uproar overhead 
had drawn a most helpless looking mortal from a retired 
corner of the berth-deck to the ladder of the forward hatch, 
where, with a body half above the combings, a skein of 
strong coarse thread around his neck, a piece of beeswax in 
one hand, and a needle in the other, he stood staring about 
him with just that sort of bewildered air that a Chinese 
mandarin would manifest were he to be suddenly initiated 
into the mysteries of the ballet. On this object the eye of 
Scipio fell. Stretching out an arm, he cast him upon his 
shoulder, and, before the startled subject of his attack knew 
into whose hands he had fallen, a hook was passed beneath 
the waistband of his trowsers, and he was half-way between 
the water and the spar, on his way to Fid. 

“ Have a care lest you let the man fall into the sea ! ’ ’ cried 
Wilder, sternly, from his stand on the distant poop. 

“ H’em a tailor, Masser Harry,” returned the deliberate 
black; ‘‘if he clothes no ’trong, he nobody to blame but 
heself.” 

During this brief parlance, the good-man Homespun had 
safely arrived at the termination of his flight. Here he was 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


283 


suitably received by Fid, who raised him to his side ; and, 
having placed him comfortably between the yard and the 
boom, he proceeded to secure him by a lashing that would 
give the tailor the proper disposition of his hands. 

“ Bouse a bit on this waister ! ” called out Richard, when 
he had properly secured the good-man; “so ; belay all 
that.” 

He then put one foot on the neck of his prisoner, and, 
seizing his lower member as it swung uppermost, he coolly 
placed it in the lap of the awe-struck tailor. 

“ There, friend,” he said, “ handle your needle and palm 
now, as if you were at job-work. Your knowing handicraft 
always begins with the foundation, whereby he makes sure 
that his upper gear will stand.” 

“ The Ford protect me, and all other sinful mortals, from 
an untimely end ! ” exclaimed Homespun, gazing at the 
vacant view from his giddy elevation, with a sensation a 
little resembling that with which the aeronaut, in his first 
experiment, regards the prospect beneath. 

“ Settle away this waister,” again called Fid : “he inter- 
rupts rational conversation by his noise ; and, as his gear is 
condemned by this here tailor, why, you may turn him over 
to the purser for a new outfit.” 

The real motive, however, of getting rid of his pendent 
companion, was a twinkling of humanity that still glim- 
mered through the rough humor of the tar, who well knew 
that his prisoner must hang where he did at a good deal of 
expense of bodily ease. As soon as his request was complied 
with, he turned to the good-man to renew the discourse with 
just as much composure as if they were both seated on the 
deck, or as if a dozen practical jokes of the same character 
were not in the process of enactment in as many different 
parts of the vessel. 

‘ ‘ Why do you open your eyes, brother, in this port-hole 
fashion?” commenced the top-man. “This is all water 
that you see about you, except that hummock of blue in the 
eastern board, which is a morsel of upland in the Bahamas, 
d’ ye see.” 

“ A sinful and presuming world is this we live in ! ” re- 


284 


XTbe tRefc IRover 


turned the good-man ; “nor can any one tell at what mo- 
ment his life is to be taken from him. Five bloody and 
cruel wars have I lived to see in safety, and yet am I re- 
served to meet this disgraceful and profane end at last.” 

“ Well, since you have had your luck in the wars, you ’ve 
the less reason to grumble at the bit of a surge you may 
have felt in your garments, as they run you up to this here 
yard-arm. I say, brother, I have known stouter fellows take 
the same ride, who never knew when or how they got down 
again.” 

Homespun, who did not more than half comprehend the 
allusion of Fid, now regarded him in a way that announced 
some little desire for an explanation, mingled with great ad- 
miration of the unconcern with which his companion main- 
tained his position without the smallest aid from anything 
but his self-balancing powers. 

“I say, brother,” resumed Fid, “that many a stout sea- 
man has been whipt up to the end of a yard, who has started 
by the signal of a gun, and who has stayed there just as long 
as the president of a court-martial was pleased to believe 
might be necessary to improve his honesty ! ’ ’ 

“ It would be a fearful and frightful trifling with Provi- 
dence, in the least offending and conscientious mariner, to 
take such awful punishments in vain, by acting them in his 
sports ; but doubly so do I pronounce it in the crew of a ship 
on which no man can say at what hour retribution and com- 
punction are to alight. It seems to me unwise to tempt 
Providence by these provocating exhibitions.” 

Fid cast a glance of more than usual significance at the 
good-man, and even postponed his reply until he had fresh- 
ened his ideas by an ample addition to the morsel of weed 
which he had kept all along thrust into one of his cheeks. 
Then, casting his eyes about him, in order to see that none 
of his noisy and riotous companions of the top were within 
ear-shot, he fastened a still more meaning look on the coun- 
tenance of the tailor, and responded as follows : — 

‘ 4 Hark ye, brother, whatever may be the other good 
points of Richard Fid, his friends cannot say he is much of a 
scholar. This being the case, he has not seen fit to ask a look 


XTbe IReb IRover 


285 


at tlie sailing orders on coming aboard this wholesome ves- 
sel. I suppose, howsomever, that they can be forthcoming 
at need, and that no honest man need be ashamed to be found 
cruising under the same. ’ ’ 

“ Ah ! Heaven protect such unoffending innocents as 
serve here against their will, when the allotted time of the 
cruiser shall be filled ! ” returned Homespun. “ I take it, 
however, that you, as a seafaring and understanding man, 
have not entered into this enterprise without receiving the 
bounty, and knowing the whole nature of the service ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ The devil a bit have I entered at all, either in the Enter- 
prise or in the Dolphin, as they call the craft. There is 
Master Harry, the lad on the poop there — he who hails a 
yard like a bull-whale roaring — I follow his signals d’ ye 
see ; and it is seldom I bother him with questions as to what 
tack he means to lay his boat on next.” 

‘ ‘ What ! w T ould you sell your soul in this manner to 
Beelzebub, and that, too, without a price? ” 

“I say, friend, it may be as well to overhaul your ideas 
before you let them slip, in this no-man’s fashion, from your 
tongue. I would wish to treat a gentleman, who has come 
aloft to pay me a visit, with such civility as may do credit 
to my top, though the crew be at mischief, d’ye see. But 
an officer like him I follow has a name of his own, without 
stopping to borrow one of the person you ’ve just seen fit to 
name. I scorn such a pitiful thing as a threat ; but a man 
of your years need n’t be told, that it is just as easy to go 
down from this here spar as it was to come up to it.” 

The tailor cast a glance beneath him into the brine, and 
hastened to do away the unfavorable impression which his 
last unfortunate interrogation had so evidently left on the 
mind of his brawny associate. 

“ Heaven forbid that I should call any one but by their 
given and family names, as the law commands,” he said. 

‘ ‘ I meant merely to inquire, if you would follow the gen- 
tleman you serve to so unseemly and pernicious a place as a 
gibbet ? ” 

Bid ruminated some little time, before he could muster 
his ideas to reply to so comprehensive a question. During 


286 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


this unusual process, he agitated the weed, with which his 
mouth was nearly gorged, with great industry ; and then, 
terminating both processes, by casting a jet of the juice 
nearly to the sprit-sail-yard, he said, in a very decided 
tone, — 

“ If I would n’t may I be d d ! After sailing in com- 

pany for four- and- twenty years, I should be no better than a 
sneak, to part company because such a trifle as a gallows 
hove in sight.” 

‘ ‘ The pay of such a service should be both generous and 
punctual, and the cheer of the most encouraging character,” 
the good-man observed, in a way which manifested that he 
would not be displeased were he to receive a circumstantial 
reply. Fid was in no disposition to balk his curiosity, but 
rather deemed himself bound, since he had entered on the 
subject, to leave no part of it unexplained. 

“As for the pay, d’ ye see,” he said, “it is seaman’s 
wages. I should despise myself to take less than falls to 
the share of the best foremast-hand in a ship, since it would 
be all the same as owning that I got my deserts. But 
Master Harry has a way of his own in rating men’s ser- 
vices ; and if his ideas get jammed in an affair of this sort, 
it is no marlingspike that I handle which can loosen them. 
I once just named the propriety of getting me a quarter- 
master’s berth ; but devil a bit would he be doing the thing, 
seeing, as he says himself, that I have a fashion of getting 
a little hazy at times, which would only be putting me in 
danger of disgrace ; since everybody knows that the higher 
a monkey climbs in the rigging of a ship, the easier every- 
body on deck can see that he has a spar abaft which isn’t 
human. Then, as to cheer, it is seaman’s fare ; sometimes 
a cut to spare for a friend, and sometimes a hungry stomach. ’ ’ 
But then there are often divisions of the — a — a — the 
prize money, in this successful cruiser? ” observed the good- 
man, averting his face as he spoke, perhaps from a con- 
sciousness that it might betray an unseemly interest in the 
answer. “ I dare say, you receive amends for all your suf- 
ferings, when the purser gives forth the spoils ? ’ ’ 

“Hark ye, brother,” said Fid, again assuming a look of 


TIbe IReb iRover 


287 


significance; “can you tell me where the admiralty court 
sits which condemns her prizes ? ’ ’ 

The tailor returned the glance with interest ; but an extra- 
ordinary uproar, in another part of the vessel, cut short the 
dialogue, just as there was a rational probability it might 
lead to some consolatory explanations between the parties. 

As the action of the tale is shortly to be set in motion 
again, we shall refer the cause of the commotion to the 
opening of the succeeding chapter. 




CHAPTER XX. 

“ Come, and get thee a sword, though made of a lath : 

They have been up these two days.” 

King Henry VI. 

W HITE the little by-play that we have just re- 
lated was enacting on the fore-yard-arm of the 
rover, scenes that partook equally of the na- 
ture of tragedy and farce were in the process 
of exhibition elsewhere. The contest between the possessors 
of the deck and the active tenants of the top, was far from 
having reached its termination. Blows had in more than 
one instance, succeeded to angry words ; and, as the former 
was a part of the sports in which the marines and waisters 
were on an equality with their more ingenious tormentors, 
the war was beginning to be waged with some appearances 
of a doubtful success. Nightingale, however, was always 
ready to recall the combatants to their sense of propriety, 
with his well-known wind of the call, and his murmuring 
voice. A long, shrill whistle, with the words “ Good hu- 
mor, ahoy ! ” had hitherto served to keep down the rising 
tempers of the different parties, when the joke bore too hard 
on the high-spirited soldier, or the revengeful, though per- 
haps less mettlesome, member of the after-guard. But an 
oversight on the part of him who in common kept so vigi- 
lant an eye on the movements of all beneath his orders, had 
nearly led to results of a more serious nature. 

No sooner had the crew commenced the rough sports we 
have just related, than the vein which had induced the 
Rover momentarily to loosen the reins of discipline seemed 
suddenly to subside. The gay and cheerful air that he had 

288 


TObe iReb iRovcc 


289 


maintained in his dialogue with his female guests (or pris- 
oners, whichever he might be disposed to consider them), 
had disappeared in a thoughtful and clouded brow. His 
eye no longer lighted with those glimmerings of wayward 
and sarcastic humor in which he loved occasionally to 
indulge, but its expression became settled and austere. His 
mind had relapsed into one of those brooding reveries that 
so often obscured his mien, as a shadow darkens the golden 
tints of the ripe and waving corn. 

While most of those who were not actors in the humor- 
ous achievements of the crew steadily regarded the same, 
some with wonder, others with distrust, and all with more 
or less of the humor of the hour, the Rover, to all appear- 
ance, was unconscious of all that was going on. It is true, 
that at times he raised his eyes to the active beings who 
clung like squirrels to the ropes, or suffered them to fall on 
the duller movements of the men below ; but it was always 
with a vacancy which proved that the image they carried to 
the brain was dim and illusory. The looks he cast from 
time to time on Mrs. Wyllys and her fair and interested 
pupil betrayed the workings of the temper of the inward 
man. It was only in these brief but comprehensive glances 
that the feelings by which he was governed might have 
been, in any manner, traced to their origin. Still the nicest 
observer would have been puzzled, in endeavoring to pro- 
nounce on the entire character of the emotions uppermost 
in his mind. At instants, it might have been fancied that 
some unholy and licentious passion was getting the ascen- 
dency ; and then, as his eye ran rapidly over the chaste and 
matronly, though still attractive, countenance of the gov- 
erness, the look of doubt, as well as of respect, with which 
he gazed, was too obvious to be misinterpreted. 

While the Rover was thus occupied, the sports proceeded, 
sometimes humorous and forcing smiles from the lips of the 
half-terrified Gertrude, but always tending to that violence 
and outbreaking of anger, which might, at any moment, set 
at nought the discipline of a vessel in which there were no 
other means of enforcing authority than such as its officers 
could, on the instant, command. Water had been so lav- 
19 


290 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


ishly expended, that the decks were running with the fluid, 
more than one flight of spray having invaded the privileged 
precincts of the poop. Kvery ordinary device of similar 
scenes had been resorted to by the men aloft to annoy their 
less advantageously posted shipmates beneath ; and such 
means of retaliation had been adopted as use or facility 
rendered obvious. Here, a hog and a waister were seen 
swinging against each other, pendent beneath a top ; there, 
a marine, lashed in the rigging, was obliged to suffer the 
manipulation of a pet monkey, which, drilled to the duty 
and armed with a comb, was posted on his shoulder, with 
an air as grave and an eye as observant, as if he had been 
regularly educated in the art of the perruquier ; and every- 
where, some coarse and practical joke proclaimed the licen- 
tious liberty which had been momentarily accorded to a set 
of beings who were, in common, kept in that restraint which 
comfort, no less than safety, requires for the well-ordering 
of an armed ship. 

In the midst of the noise and turbulence, a voice was 
heard, apparently issuing from the ocean, hailing the vessel 
by name, with the aid of a speaking-trumpet, that had been 
applied to the outer circumference of a hawse-hole. 

‘ ‘ Who speaks the Dolphin ? ’ ’ demanded Wilder, when 
he perceived that the summons had fallen on the ears of his 
commander, without recalling him to the recollection of 
what was in action. 

“ Father Neptune is under your fore-foot. ” 

“ What wills the god ? ” 

‘ ‘ He has heard that certain strangers have come into his 
dominions, and he wishes leave to come aboard the saucy 
Dolphin, to inquire into their errands, and to overhaul the 
log-book for their characters. ’ ’ 

“ He is welcome. Show the old man aboard through the 
head ; he is too experienced a sailor to wish to come in by 
the cabin windows.” 

Here the parlance ceased ; for Wilder turned upon his 
heel, disgusted with his part of the mummery. 

An athletic seaman soon appeared, seemingly issuing 
from the element whose deity he personated. Mops, drip- 


XTbe IReb IRover 


29I 


ping with brine, supplied the place of hoary locks ; gulf- 
weed, of which acres were floating within a league of the 
ship, composed a sort of negligent mantle ; and in his hand 
he bore a trident, made of three marlingspikes properly 
arranged, and borne on the staff of a half-pike. Thus 
accoutred, the god of the ocean, who was no less a person- 
age than the captain of the forecastle, advanced with a 
suitable air of dignity along the deck, attended by a train 
of bearded water-nymphs and naiads, in costumes as gro- 
tesque as his own. Arrived at the quarter-deck, in front 
of the position occupied by the officers, the principal per- 
sonage saluted the group, with a wave of his sceptre, and 
resumed the discourse as follows : Wilder, from the con- 
tinued abstraction of his commander, finding himself under 
the necessity of maintaining one portion of the dialogue. 

‘ ‘ A wholesome and prettily-rigged boat have you come 
out in this time, my son ; and one well filled with a noble 
set of my children. How long is it since you left the 
land?” 

“ Some eight days.” 

“ Hardly time enough to give the green ones the use of 
their sea legs. I shall be able to find them, by the manner 
in which they hold on in a calm.” Here the general, 
who was standing with a scornful and averted eye, let go 
his hold of a mizzen-shroud, which he had grasped for no 
other visible reason than to render his person utterly im- 
movable ; Neptune smiled, and continued : “ I sha’n’t ask 
concerning the port you are last from, seeing that the 
Newport soundings are still hanging about the flukes of 
your anchors. I hope you haven’t brought out many fresh 
hands with you, for I smell the stock-fish aboard a Baltic- 
man, who is coming down with the trades, and who can’t 
be more than a hundred leagues from this ; I shall there- 
fore have but little time to overhaul your people, in order 
to give them their papers.” 

“You see them all before you. So skilful a mariner as 
Neptune needs no advice when or how to tell a seaman.” 

“ I shall then begin with this gentleman,” continued the 
waggish head of the forecastle, turning towards the still 


292 


Ghe IRefc IRover 


motionless chief of the marines. ‘ ‘ There is a strong look 
of the land about him ; and I should like to know how 
many hours it is since he first floated over blue water ? ’ * 

“I believe he has made many voyages ; and I dare say 
has long since paid the proper tribute to your majesty.” 

“Well, well ; the thing is like enough, tho’f I will say I 
have known scholars make better use of their time, if he 
has been as long on the water as you pretend. How is it 
with these ladies ? ’ ’ 

“ Both have been at sea before, and have a right to pass 
without a question,” resumed Wilder, a little hastily. 

‘ ‘ The youngest is comely enough to have been born in 
my dominions,” said the gallant sovereign of the sea : “but 
no one can refuse to answer a hail that comes straight from 
the mouth of old Neptune ; so if it makes no great differ- 
ence in your honor’s reckoning, I will just beg the young 
woman to do her own talking. ’ ’ Then, without paying the 
least attention to the angry glance of Wilder, the sturdy 
representative of the god addressed himself directly to 
Gertrude. “If, as report goes, my pretty damsel, you 
have seen blue water before this passage, you may be able 
to recollect the name of the vessel, and some other small 
particulars of the run ? ’ ’ 

The face of Gertrude changed its color from red to pale, 
as rapidly and as glowingly as the evening sky flushes and 
returns to its pearl-like loveliness ; but she kept down her 
feelings sufficiently to answer with an air of entire self- 
possession, — 

“ Were I to enter into all these little particulars, it would 
detain you from more worthy subjects. Perhaps this cer- 
tificate will convince you that I am no novice of the sea.” 

As she spoke, a guinea fell from her white hand into the 
broad and extended palm of her interrogator. 

“ I can only account for my not remembering your lady- 
ship, by the great extent and heavy nature of my busi- 
ness,” returned the audacious freebooter, bowing with an 
air of rude politeness as he pocketed the offering. ‘ ‘ Had 
I looked into my books before I came aboard this here ship, 
I should have seen through the mistake at once ; for now I 


Ube IRefc) IRover 


293 


remember that I ordered one of my limners to take your 
pretty face, in order that I might show it to my wife at 
home. The fellow did it well enough, in the shell of an 
Kast India oyster ; I will have a copy set in coral, and sent 
to your husband, whenever you may see fit to choose one. ,, 

Then, repeating his bow, with a scrape of the foot, he 
turned to the governess, in order to continue his examina- 
tion. 

“And you, madam,” he said, “ is this the first time you 
have ever come into my dominions, or not ? ” 

“ Neither the first, nor the twentieth ; I have often seen 
your maj esty before. ’ ’ 

1 1 An old acquaintance ! In what latitude might it be 
that we first fell in with each other? ” 

“ I believe I first enjoyed that honor, quite thirty years 
since, under the equator.” 

“Ay, ay, I’m often there, looking out for Indiamen 
and your homeward-bound Brazil traders. I boarded a 
particularly great number that very season, but can’t say I 
remember your countenance.” 

“ I fear that thirty years have made some changes in it,” 
returned the governess, with a smile, which, though mourn- 
ful, was too far dignified in its melancholy, to induce the 
suspicion that she regretted a loss so vain as that of her 
personal charms. ‘ ‘ I was in a vessel of the king, and one 
that was a little remarkable for its size, since it was of three 
decks. ’ ’ 

The god received the guinea, which was now secretly 
offered ; but it would seem that success had quickened his 
covetousness, for, instead of returning thanks, he rather 
appeared to manifest a disposition to increase the amount 
of the bribe. 

“All this maybe just as your ladyship says,” he re- 
joined ; “ but the interest of my kingdom, and a large fam- 
ily at home, make it necessary that I should look sharp to 
my rights. Was there a flag on the vessel ? ” 

“There was.” 

“ Then, it is likely they hoisted it, as usual, at the end of 
the jib-boom?” 


294 


Zhc IRefc IRover 


“ It was hoisted, as is usual with a vice-admiral, at the 
fore.” 

“Well answered, for petticoats ! ” muttered the deity, a 

little baffled in his artifice. “It is d d queer, saving 

your ladyship’s presence, that I should have forgotten such 
a ship. Was there anything of the extraordinary sort, that 
one would be likely to remember? ” 

The features of the governess had already lost their 
forced pleasantry in a shade of reflection, and her eye was 
fastened on vacancy, as she answered like one who thought 
aloud, — 

“ I can, at this moment, see the arch and roguish man- 
ner with which that wayward boy, who then had but eight 
years, overreached the cunning of the mimic Neptune, and 
retaliated for his devices by turning the laugh of all on 
board on his own head ! ” 

“Was he but eight?” demanded a deep voice at her 
elbow. 

“Eight in years, but mature in artifice,” returned Mrs. 
Wyllys, seeming to awake from a trance, as she turned her 
eyes full upon the face of the Rover. 

“Well, well,” interrupted the captain of the forecastle, 
who cared not to continue an inquiry in which his dreaded 
commander saw fit to take a part, “ I dare say it is all right. 
I will look into my journal ; if I find it so, well — if not 
why, it ’s only giving the ship a head- wind, until I ’ve over- 
hauled the Dane, and then it will be all in good time to 
receive the balance of the fee. ’ ’ 

So saying the god hurried past the officers, and turned 
his attention to the marine guard, who had grouped them- 
selves in a body, secretly aware of the necessity each man 
might be under of receiving support from his fellows in so 
searching a scrutiny. Perfectly familiar with the career 
each individual among them had run in his present lawless 
profession, and secretly apprehensive that his authority 
might be suddenly forced from him, the chief of the fore- 
castle selected a raw landsman from among them, ordering 
his attendants to drag the victim forward, where he believed 
they might act the cruel revels he contemplated with less 


Ube IReb 1R over 


2 95 


danger of interruption. Already irritated by the laughs 
which had been created at their expense, and resolute to 
defend their comrade, the marines resisted. A long, clam- 
orous, and angry dispute succeeded, during which each 
party maintained its right to pursue the course it had 
adopted. From words the disputants were not long in 
passing to the usual signs of hostilities. While the peace 
of the ship thus hung, as it were, suspended by a hair, the 
general saw fit to express the disgust of such an outrage 
upon discipline, which had, throughout the whole scene, 
possessed his mind. 

“ I protest against this riotous and unmilitary procedure,” 
he said, addressing himself to his still abstracted and 
thoughtful superior. “ I have taught my men, I trust, the 
proper spirit of soldiers ; and there is no greater disgrace 
can happen to one of them than to lay hands on him, ex- 
cept it be in the regular and wholesome way of a cat. I 
give open warning to all, that if a finger is put upon one of 
my bullies, unless as I have said in the way of discipline, it 
will be answered with a blow.” 

As the general had not essayed to smother his voice, it 
was heard by his followers, and produced the effect which 
might have been expected. A vigorous thrust from the fist 
of the sergeant drew mortal blood from the visage of the 
god of the sea, at once establishing his terrestrial origin. 
Thus compelled to vindicate his manhood, in more senses 
than one, the stout seaman returned the salutation, with 
such additional embellishments as the exigencies of the 
moment seemed to require. Such an interchange of civil- 
ities, between two so prominent personages, was the signal 
of general hostilities among their respective followers. It 
was the uproar which attended this onset that caught the 
attention of Fid, who, the instant he saw the nature of the 
sports below, abandoned his companion on the yard, and slid 
down to the deck by the aid of a backstay, with as much 
facility as a monkey could have shown in the same manoeu- 
vre. His example was followed by all the top-men ; and 
there was every appearance that the audacious marines 
would be borne down by the sheer force of numbers. But, 


296 


XTbe 1 Refc 1Ro\>er 


stout in their resolution, and bitter in their hostility, these 
drilled warriors, instead of seeking refuge in flight, fell back 
upon each other for support. Bayonets were seen gleaming 
in the sun ; while some of the seamen, in the exterior of 
the crowd, were already laying their hands on the half-pikes 
that formed a warlike ornament to the foot of the mast. 

‘ ‘ Hold ! stand back, every man of you ! ’ ’ cried Wilder, 
dashing into the centre of the throng and forcing them 
aside, with a haste that was possibly quickened by the 
recollection of the increased danger that would surround 
the unprotected females, should the bands of subordination 
be once broken among so lawless and desperate a crew. 
“On your lives, fall back, and obey. And you, sir, who 
claim to be so good a soldier, I call on you to bid your men 
refrain.” 

The general, however disgusted he might have been by 
the previous scene, had too many important interests in- 
volved in the interior peace of the vessel, not to exert him- 
self at this appeal. He was seconded by all the inferior 
officers, who well knew that their lives, as well as their 
comfort, depended on staying the torrent that had so unex- 
pectedly broken loose. But they only proved how hard it 
is to uphold an authority that is not established on the 
foundation of legitimate power. Neptune had cast aside 
his masquerade ; and, backed by his stout forecastle- men, 
was preparing for a conflict that might speedily give him 
greater pretensions to immortal nature than those he had 
just rejected. Until now, the officers, partly by threats and 
partly by remonstrances, had so far controlled the outbreak- 
ing, that the time had been passed rather in preparations 
than in violence. But the marines had seized their arms ; 
while two crowded masses of mariners were forming on 
each side of the mainmast, abundantly provided with pikes, 
and such other weapons as could be made of the bars and 
handspikes of the vessel. One or two of the cooler heads 
among the latter had even proceeded so far as to clear 
away a gun, which they were pointing in-board, and in a 
direction that might have swept a moiety of the quarter- 
deck. In short, the broil had reached that pass when an- 


TTbe IReb IRover 


297 


other blow struck from either side must have given up the 
vessel to plunder and massacre. The danger of such a 
crisis was heightened by the taunts that broke forth from 
profane lips, which were only opened to lavish the coarsest 
revilings on the persons and characters of their enemies. 

During the five minutes that might have flown by in these 
sinister and threatening symptoms of insubordination, the 
individual who was chiefly interested in the maintenance of 
discipline had manifested the most extraordinary indiffer- 
ence to, or rather unconsciousness of, all that was passing 
near him. With his arms folded on his breast, and his eyes 
fastened on the placid sea, he stood motionless as the mast 
near which he had placed his person. Tong accustomed to 
the noise of scenes similar to the one he had himself pro- 
voked, he heard, in the confused sounds which rose un- 
heeded on his ear, no more than the commotion which 
ordinarily attended the license of such sports. 

His subordinates in command, however, were far more 
active. Wilder had already beaten back the boldest of the 
seamen, and a space was cleared between the hostile parties, 
into which his assistants threw themselves, with the haste 
of men who knew how much was required at their hands. 
This momentary success might have been pushed too far ; 
for believing that the spirit of mutiny was subdued, our 
adventurer was proceeding to improve his advantage, by 
seizing the most audacious of the offenders, when his pris* 
oner was immediately tom from his grasp by twenty of his 
confederates. 

“ Who ’s this, that sets himself up for a commodore aboard 
the Dolphin? ” exclaimed a voice in the crowd, at a most 
unhappy moment for the authority of the new lieutenant. 
“ In what fashion did he come aboard us? or, in what ser- 
vice did he learn his trade ? ’ ’ 

“Ay, ay,” continued another sinister voice, “where is 
the Bristol trader he was to lead into our net, and for which 
we lost so many of the best days in the season, at a lazy 
anchor? ” 

A general and simultaneous murmur followed, which, had 
such testimony been wanting, would in itself have manifested 


298 


Tlbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


that the unknown officer was scarcely more fortunate in his 
present than in his recent service. Both parties united in 
condemning his interference, and from both sides were heard 
scornful opinions of his origin, mingled with unequivocal 
denunciations against his person. 

Nothing daunted by these evidences of the danger he was 
in, our adventurer answered their taunts with the most 
scornful smiles, challenging a single individual of them all 
to dare to step forth, and maintain his words by suitable 
actions. 

“ Hear him ! ” exclaimed his auditors. “ He speaks like 
a king’s officer in chase of a smuggler ! ” cried one. “ Ay, 
he ’s a bold ’un in a calm,” said a second. “ He ’s a Jonah, 
that has slipped into the cabin windows! ” cried a third; 
“and while he stays in the Dolphin, luck will keep upon 
our weather-beam.” “Into the sea with him! overboard 
with the upstart ! into the sea with him ! where he ’ll find 
that a bolder and a better man has gone before him ! ” 
shouted a dozen at once ; some of whom immediately made 
very plain demonstrations of an intention to put their threat 
in execution. But two forms instantly sprang from the 
crowd, and threw themselves, like angry lions, between 
Wilder and his foes. The one who was foremost in the 
rescue faced short upon the advancing seamen, and, with a 
blow from an arm that was irresistible, levelled the repre- 
sentative of Neptune to his feet, as if he had been a waxen 
image of a man. The other was not slow to imitate his 
example ; and, as the throng receded before this secession 
from its own numbers, the latter, who was Fid, flourished a 
fist that was as big and almost as solid as a twelve-pound 
shot, while he vociferated, fairly frothing at the mouth with 
rage,— 

“ Away with ye, ye lubbers ! away with ye ! Would you 
run foul of a single man, and he an officer, and such an 
officer as ye never set eyes on before, except, mayhap, in 
the fashion that a cat looks upon a king ? I should like to 
see the man, among ye all, who can handle a heavy ship, in 
a narrow channel, as I have seen Master Harry here handle 
the saucy — ” 


Uhc IRefc IRcwer 


299 

“Stand back ! ” cried Wilder, forcing himself between his 
defenders and his foes. “Stand back, I say, and leave me 
alone to meet the audacious villains. ’ ’ 

“ Overboard with him ! overboard with them all ! ” cried 
the seamen, “ he and his knaves together ! ” 

“Will you remain silent, and see murder done before 
your eyes?” exclaimed Mrs. Wyllys, rushing from her 
place of retreat, and laying a hand eagerly on the arm of the 
Rover. 

He started, like one who was awakened suddenly from a 
light sleep, looking her full and intently in the eye. 

‘ ‘ See ! ’ ’ she added, pointing to the violent throng below, 
where every sign of a bloody struggle was exhibiting itself. 
“ See, they kill your officer, and there is none to help him ! ” 
The look of faded marble, which had so long been seated 
on his features, vanished. Taking in the whole nature of 
the scene at the glance, the blood came rushing into every 
vein and fibre of his face. Seizing a rope which hung from 
the yard above his head, he swung his person off the poop, 
and fell lightly into the very centre of the crowd. Both 
parties fell back, while a sudden silence succeeded to a 
clamor that a moment before would have drowned the roar 
of a cataract. Making a haughty and repelling motion wfith 
his arm, he spoke, and in a voice that, if any change could 
be noted, was even pitched on a key less high and threaten- 
ing than common. But the lowest and the deepest of its 
intonations reached the most distant ear, so that no one who 
heard was left in doubt of its meaning. 

“ Mutiny ! ” he said, in a tone that strangely balanced 
between irony and scorn ; “ open, violent, and blood-seeking 
mutiny ! Are ye tired of your lives, men ? Is there one, 
among ye all, who is willing to make himself an example 
for the good of the rest ? If there be, let him lift a hand, a 
finger, a hair. L,et him speak, look me in the eye, or dare 
to show that life is in him, by sign, breath, or motion ! ” 

He paused ; and so general and absorbing was the spell 
produced by his presence and his mien, that, in all that 
crowd of fierce and excited spirits, there was not one so 
bold as to presume to brave his anger. Sailors and marines 


3 °° 


Ube IReb IRover 


stood, alike passive, humbled, and obedient as faulty chil- 
dren, when arraigned before an authority from which they 
feel that escape is impossible. Perceiving that no voice 
answered, no limbs moved, nor even an eye among them all 
was bold enough to meet his own steady but glowing look, 
he continued, in the same deep and commanding tone, — 

“ It is well ; reason has come of the latest ; but, happily 
for ye all, it has returned. Fall back, fall back, I say ; you 
taint the quarter-deck.” The men receded a pace or two 
on every side of him. “ L,et those arms be stacked ; it will 
be time to use them when I say there is need. And you, 
fellows, who have been so bold as to lift a pike without an 
order, have a care they do not burn your hands. ’ ’ A dozen 
staves fell upon the deck together. “ Is there a drummer in 
this ship ? let him appear ! ” 

A terrified and cringing-looking being presented himself, 
having found his instrument by a sort of desperate instinct. 

“ Now speak aloud, and let me know at once whether I 
command a crew of orderly and obedient men, or a set of 
miscreants that require some purifying before I can trust 
them. ’ ’ 

The first few taps of the drum sufficed to tell the men 
that it was the “ beat to quarters.” Without hesitating, the 
crowd dissolved, and each of the delinquents stole silently to 
his station ; the crew of the gun that had been turned in- 
ward managing to thrust it through its port again, with a 
dexterity that might have availed them greatly in time of 
combat. Throughout the whole affair, the Rover manifested 
neither anger nor impatience. Deep and settled scorn, with 
a high reliance on himself, had, indeed, been exhibited in 
his bearing, but not for an instant did it seem that he 
suffered passion to get the mastery of reason. And, now 
that he had recalled his crew to their duty, he appeared no 
more elated with his success than he had been daunted by 
the storm which, a minute before, had threatened the dis- 
solution of his authority. Instead of pursuing his further 
purpose in haste, he awaited the observance of the minutest 
form which etiquette, as well as use, had rendered custom- 
ary on such occasions. 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


3 GI 


The officers approached to report their several divisions 
in readiness to engage, with exactly the same regularity as 
if an enemy had been in sight. The top-men and sail- 
trimmers were enumerated, and found prepared ; shot-slugs 
and stoppers were handled ; the magazine was even opened ; 
the arm-chests were emptied of their contents ; and, in 
short, more than the ordinary preparation of an every-day 
exercise was observed. 

‘ ‘ L,et the yards be slung ; the sheets and halyards 
stoppered,” he said to the first lieutenant, who now displayed 
as intimate an acquaintance with the military as he had 
hitherto discovered with the nautical part of his profession. 
“ Give the boarders their pikes and boarding-axes, sir ; we 
will show these fellows that we dare trust them with 
arms ! ’ ’ 

The orders were obeyed to the letter ; and then succeeded 
that deep and grave silence which renders a crew at quarters 
a sight so imposing even to those who have witnessed it 
from boyhood. In this manner, the skilful leader of this 
band of desperate marauders knew how to curb their vio- 
lence with the fetters of discipline. When he believed their 
minds brought within the proper limits, by the situation of 
restraint in which he had placed them, where they well 
knew that a word, or even an offensive look, would be met 
by instant punishment, he walked apart with Wilder, of 
whom he demanded an explanation of what had passed. 

Whatever might have been the natural tendency of our 
adventurer to mercy, he had not been educated on the sea 
to look with lenity on the crime of mutiny. Had his recent 
escape from the wreck of the Bristol trader been already 
banished from his mind, the impression of a whole life still 
remained to teach the necessity of keeping tight those cords 
which experience has so often proved are absolutely neces- 
sary to quell such turbulent bands, when removed from the 
pale of society, the influence of woman, and when excited 
by the constant collision of tempers rudely provoked and 
equally disposed to violence. Though he “ set down naught 
in malice,” it is certain that he did “ nothing extenuate,” in 
the account he rendered. The whole of the facts were laid 


3°2 


Ube IReb IRover 


before the Rover, in the direct, unvarnished language of 
truth. 

“ One cannot keep these fellows to their duty by preach- 
ing,’ ’ returned the irregular chief, when the other had done. 
‘ ‘ We have no ‘ Execution Dock ’ for our delinquents, no 
‘ yellow-flag ’ for fleets to gaze at, no grave and wise-look- 
ing courts to thumb a book or two, and end by saying, 
‘ Hang him.’ The rascals knew my eye was off them. 
Once before, they turned my vessel into a living evidence 
of that passage in the Testament which teaches humility to 
all, by telling us, ‘ that the last shall be first, and the first 
last. ’ I found a dozen round-abouts drinking and making 
free with the liquors of the cabin, and all the officers pris- 
oners forward — a state of things, as you will allow, a little 
subversive of decency as well as decorum ! ’ ’ 

“I am amazed you should have succeeded in restoring 
discipline ! ’ ’ 

“ I got among them single-handed, and with no other aid 
than a boat from the shore ; but I ask no more than a place 
for my foot, and room for an arm, to keep a thousand such 
spirits in order. Now they know me, it is rare we misun- 
derstand each other.” 

“You must have punished severely ! ” 

“ There was justice done. Mr. Wilder, I fear you find 
our service a little irregular ; but a month of experience 
will put you on a level with us, and remove all danger of 
such another scene.” As the Rover spoke, he faced his 
recruit with a countenance that endeavored to be cheerful, 
but whose gayety could force itself no further than a fright- 
ful smile. “ Come,” he quickly added, “ this time I set the 
mischief afoot myself; and, as we are completely masters, 
we may afford to be lenient. Besides,” glancing his eyes 
towards the place where Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude still 
remained in deep suspense, awaiting his decision, “it 
may be well to consult the sex of our guests at such a 
moment.” 

Then, leaving his subordinate, the Rover advanced to the 
centre of the quarter-deck, whither he immediately sum- 
moned the principal offenders. The men listened to his 


Ube IReb IRover 


3°3 


rebukes, which were not altogether free from admonitory 
warnings of what might be the consequences of a similar 
transgression, like creatures who stood in presence of a be- 
ing of a nature superior to their own. Though he spoke 
in his usual quiet tone, the lowest of his syllables went into 
the ears of the most distant of the crew ; and, when his 
brief lesson was ended, the men stood before him, not only 
like delinquents who had been reproved though pardoned, 
but with the air of criminals who were as much condemned 
by their own consciousness as by the general voice. Among 
them all was only one seaman who, perhaps from past ser- 
vice, was emboldened to venture a syllable in his own 
justification. 

“As for the matter with the marines, ” he said, “your 
honor knows there is little love between us, though I allow 
that a quarter-deck is no place to settle our begrudgings ; 
but, as to the gentleman who has seen fit to step into the 
shoes of — ’ ’ 

“It is my pleasure that he should remain there,” in- 
terrupted his commander. “ Of his merit I alone am 
judge.” 

“Well, well, since it is your pleasure, sir, why, no man 
may dispute it. But no account has been rendered of the 
Bristol-man, and great expectations were had aboard here 
from that very ship. Your honor is a reasonable gentle- 
man, and will not be surprised that the people who were on 
the lookout for an outward-bound West-Indiaman should 
be unwilling to take up with a battered and empty launch, 
in her stead.” 

“ Ay, sir, if I will it, you shall take an oar, a tiller, a 
thole for your portion. No more of this ! You saw the 
condition of his ship with your own eyes ; and where is the 
seaman who has not, on some evil day, been compelled to 
admit that his art is nothing, when the elements are against 
him ? Who saved this ship, in the very gust that has 
robbed us of our prize ? Was it your skill ? or was it that 
of a man who has often done it before, and who may one 
day leave you to your ignorance to manage your own inter- 
ests ? It is enough that I believe him faithful. There is 


3°4 


Ube IReb IRcwer 


no time to convince your dulness of the propriety of all 
that ’s done. Away, and send me the two men who so 
nobly stepped between their officer and mutiny.” 

Then came Fid, followed by the negro, rolling along the 
deck, and thumbing his hat with one hand, while the other 
sought an awkward retreat in a certain part of his vest- 
ments. 

“You have done well, my lad; you and your mess- 
mate — ” 

‘‘No messmate, your honor, seeing that he is a nig- 
ger,” interrupted Fid. ‘‘The chap messes with the other 
blacks, but we take a pull at the can, now and then, in 
company.” 

“ Your friend, then, if you prefer that term.” 

‘ ‘ Ay, ay, sir ; we are friendly enough at odd times, 
though a breeze often springs up between us. Guinea has 

a d d awkward fashion of luffing up in his talk ; and 

your honor knows it is n’t always comfortable to a white 
man to be driven to leeward by a black. I tell him it is 
inconvenient. He is a good enough fellow in the main, 
howsomever, sir; and as he is just an African bred and 
born, I hope you’ll be good enough to overlook his little 
failings.” 

“Were I otherwise disposed,” returned the Rover, “his 
steadiness and activity to-day would plead in his favor. ’ ’ 

“ Yes, yes, sir, he is somewhat steady, which is more than 
I can always say in my own behalf. Then, as for seaman- 
ship, there are few men who are his betters ; I wish your 
honor would take the trouble to walk forward, and look at 
the heart he turned into the main -stay, no later than the last 
calm ; it takes the strain as easy as a small sin sits upon a 
rich man’s conscience.” 

“I am satisfied with your description; you call him 
Guinea?” 

‘ ‘ Call him by anything along that coast ; for he is no way 
particular, seeing he was never christened, and knows noth- 
ing at all of the bearings and distances of religion. His law- 
ful name is S’ ip, or Shipio Africa, taken, as I suppose, from 
the circumstance that he was first shipped from that quarter 


Ube iReb 1Ro\>er 


305 


of the world. But as respects names, the fellow is as meek 
as a lamb ; you may call him anything, provided you don’t 
call him too late to his grog.” 

All this time, the African stood rolling his large dark tyes 
in every direction except towards the speakers, perfectly 
content that his long-tried shipmate should serve as his 
interpreter. The spirit which had so recently been awak- 
ened in the Rover seemed already to be subsiding ; for the 
frown which had gathered on his brow was dissipating in a 
look which bore rather the character of curiosity than of any 
fiercer emotion. 

“You have sailed long in company, my lads,” he care- 
lessly continued, addressing his words to neither in particular. 

“Full and by, in many a gale, and many a calm, your 
honor. ’ T is four-and- twenty years the last equinox, Guinea, 
since Master Harry fell athwart our hawse ; and then we 
had been together three years in the Thunderer, besides the 
run we made round the Horn, in the Bay privateer.” 

* ‘ Ah ! you have been four-and- twenty years with Mr. 
Wilder. It is not so remarkable that you should set a value 
on his life.” 

“ I should as soon think of setting a price on the king’s 
crown ! ” interrupted the straight-going seaman. “ I over- 
heard the lads, d’ ye see, sir, just plotting to throw the three 
of us overboard, and so we thought it time to say something 
in our own favor ; and, words not always being at hand, the 
black saw fit to fill up the time with something that might 
answer the turn quite as well. No, no, he is no great talker, 
that Guinea ; nor, for that matter, can I say much in my 
own favor, in this particular ; but seeing that we clapped 
a stopper on their movements, your honor will allow that 
we did as well as if we had spoken as smartly as a young 
midshipman fresh from college, who is always for hailing a 
top in Latin, you know, sir, for the want of understanding 
the proper language.” 

The Rover smiled, and he glanced his eye aside, apparently 
in quest of our adventurer. Not seeing him at hand, 
he was tempted to push his inquiries a little further, though 
too much governed by self-respect to let the intense curiosity 

20 


3°6 


Ube IReb IRover 


by which he was influenced escape him in any direct and 
manifest interrogation. But an instant’s recollection re- 
called him to himself, and he discarded the idea as unworthy 
of his character. 

“Your services shall not be forgotten. Here is gold,” 
he said, offering a handful of the metal to the negro, as the 
one nearest his own person. “You will divide it, like 
honest shipmates ; and you may ever rely on my protec- 
tion.” 

Scipio drew back, and with a motion of his elbow, re- 
plied — 

“ His honor will give ’em Masser Harry.” 

“Your Master Harry has enough of his own, lad; he 
has no need of money.” 

“S’ ip no need ’em eider.” 

“You will please to overlook the fellow’s manners, sir,” 
said Fid, very coolly interposing his own hand, and deliber- 
ately pocketing the offering ; “ but I need n’t tell as old a 
seaman as your honor, that Guinea is no country to scrape 
down the seams of a man’s behavior in. Howsomever, I 
can say this much for him, which is, that he thanks your 
honor just as heartily as if you had given him twice the 
sum. Make a bow to his honor, boy, and do some credit 
to the company you have kept. And now, since this little 
difficulty about the money is gotten over, by my presence 
of mind, with your honor’s leave, I’ll just step aloft, and 
cast loose the lashings of that bit of a tailor on the larboard 
fore-yard-arm. The chap was never made for a top-man, 
as you may see, sir, by the fashion in which he crosses his 
lower stanchions. That fellow will make a carrick bend 
with his legs as easily as I could do the same with a yarn 
of white line ! ” 

The Rover signed for him to retire ; and, turning where 
he stood, he found himself confronted by Wilder. The 
eyes of the confederates met ; and a slight color bespoke 
the consciousness of the former. Regaining his self-posses- 
sion on the instant, however, he smilingly alluded to the 
character of Fid ; and then he directed his lieutenant to have 
the “ retreat from quarters ” beat. 


Ube IReb IRover 


307 


The guns were secured, the stoppers loosened, the mag- 
azine closed, the ports lashed, and the crew withdrew to 
their several duties, like men whose violence had been 
completely subdued by the triumphant influence of a master- 
spirit. The Rover then disappeared from the deck, which, 
for a time, was left to the care of an officer of the proper 
rank. 




CHAPTER XXI. 

“ Thief. *T is in the malice of mankind, that he thus advises us ; 
not to have us thrive in our mystery.” 

Timon of Athens. 

T HROUGHOUT the whole of that day, no change 
occurred in the weather. The sleeping ocean lay 
like a waving and glittering mirror, smooth and 
polished on its surface, though, as usual, the long 
rising and swelling of a heavy ground-swell announced the 
commotion that was in action at a distant place. From the 
time that he left the deck, until the sun laved its burn- 
ished orb in the sea, the Rover was seen no more. Satisfied 
with his victory, he no longer seemed to apprehend that it 
was possible any should be bold enough to plot the over- 
throw of his power. This apparent confidence in himself 
did not fail to impress his people favorably. As no neglect 
of duty was overlooked, nor any offence left to go unpun- 
ished, an eye that was not seen was believed to be ever on 
them, and an invisible hand was thought to be at all times 
uplifted, ready to strike or to reward. It was by a similar 
system of energy in moments of need, and of forbearance 
when authority was irksome, that this extraordinary man 
had so long succeeded, not only in keeping down domestic 
treason, but in eluding the address and industry of more 
open enemies. 

When the watch was set for the night, however, and the 
ship lay in profound silence, the Rover was again seen walk- 
ing swiftly to and fro across the poop, of which he was now 
the solitary occupant. The vessel had drifted in the Gulf 
Stream so far to the northward, that the little mound of blue 
had long sunk below the edee of the ocean : and she was 

308 



Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


309 


again surrounded, far as human eye might see, by an in- 
terminable world of water. As not a breath of air was 
stirring, the sails had been handed, the naked spars rearing 
themselves, in the gloom of the evening, like those of a ship 
at anchor. In short, it was one of those hours of entire repose 
that the elements occasionally grant to such adventurers as 
trust their fortunes to the capricious and treacherous winds. 

Even the men whose duty it was to be on the alert were 
emboldened by the general tranquillity to become careless 
on their watch, and to cast their persons between the guns, 
or on different portions of the vessel, seeking that rest 
which the forms of discipline and good order prohibited 
them from enjoying in their hammocks. Here and there, 
indeed, the head of a drowsy officer was seen nodding with 
the lazy heaving of the ship, as he leaned against the bul- 
warks, or rested his person on the carriage of some gun that 
was placed beyond the sacred limits of the quarter-deck. 
One form alone was erect and vigilant, maintaining a watch- 
ful eye over the whole. This was Wilder, whose turn it was 
again to keep the deck. 

For two hours not the slightest communication occurred 
between the Rover and his lieutenant. Both rather avoided 
than sought the intercourse ; for each had his own secret 
sources of meditation. After the long and unusual silence, 
the former stopped short in his walk, and looked steadily on 
the still, motionless figure on the deck beneath him. 

“ Mr. Wilder,” he at length said, “the air is fresher on 
this poop, and more free from the impurities of the vessel. 
Will you ascend?” 

The other complied ; and they walked silently, and with 
even steps together, as seamen are wont to pace the deck in 
the hours of night. 

“We had a troublesome morning, Wilder,” the Rover 
resumed, unconsciously betraying the subject of his thoughts, 
and speaking always in a voice so guarded, that no ears but 
those of his new lieutenant could hear him : ‘ ‘ were you ever 
so near that pretty precipice, a mutiny, before? ” 

“The man who is hit is nigher to danger than he who 
feels the wind of the ball.” 


3 io 


Ube Ifteb Utoper 


“Ah ! you have then been bearded in your ship ! Give 
yourself no uneasiness on account of the personal animosity 
which a few of the fellows saw fit to manifest against your- 
self. I am acquainted with their most secret thoughts, as 
you shall shortly know.” 

“ I confess that, in your place, I should sleep on a thorny 
pillow, with such evidences of the temper of my men before 
my mind. A few hours of disorder might deliver the ves- 
sel, on any day, into the hands of the government, and your 
own life to — ’ ’ 

“The executioner! And why not yours?” demanded 
the Rover so quickly as to give, in a slight degree, an air of 
distrust to his manner. “ But the eye that has often seen 
battles seldom winks. Mine has too often and too steadily 
looked danger in the face, to be alarmed at the sight of a 
king’s pennant. Besides, it is not usual for us to be on this 
ticklish coast ; the islands and the Spanish Main are less 
dangerous cruising grounds.” 

‘ ‘ And yet have you ventured here at a time when suc- 
cess against the enemy has given the admiral leisure to em- 
ploy a powerful force in your pursuit.” 

“ I had a reason for it. It is not always easy to separate 
the commander from the man. If I have temporarily forgotten 
the obligations of the former in the wishes of the latter, so 
far, at least, no harm has come of it. I may have tired of 
chasing your indolent Don, and of driving guarda-costas into 
port. This life of ours is full of excitement, which I love ; 
to me there is interest even in a mutiny ! ’ ’ 

“ I like not treason. In this particular, I confess myself 
like the boor who loses his resolution in the dark. While 
the enemy is in view, I hope you will find me true as other 
men; but sleeping over a mine is not an amusement to my 
taste.” 

“ So much for want of practice ! Hazard is hazard, come 
in what shape it may ; and the human mind can as readily 
be taught to be indifferent to secret machinations as to open 
risk. Hush ! Struck the bell six or seven ? ” 

“Seven. You seethe men slumber, as before. Instinct 
would wake them, were their hour at hand,” 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


311 

“ ’T is well. I feared the time had passed. Yes, Wilder, 
I love suspense ; it keeps the faculties from dying, and 
throws a man upon the better principles of his nature. Per- 
haps I owe it to a wayward spirit, but, to me, there is some- 
times enjoyment in an adverse wind.” 

“And in a calm? ” 

* * Calms may have their charms for your quiet spirits ; 
but in them there is nothing to be overcome. One cannot 
stir the elements, though one may counteract their work- 
ings.” 

“You have not entered on this trade of yours — ” 

“ Yours ! ” 

“ I might, now, have said ‘ of ours,’ since I, too, have be- 
come a rover.” 

“You are still in your novitiate,” resumed the other, 
whose quick mind had already passed the point at which the 
conversation had arrived ; “and high enjoyment had I in 
being the one who shrived you in your wishes. You mani- 
fested a skill in playing round your subject without touching 
it, which gives me hope of an apt scholar.” 

“ But no penitent, I trust.” 

“ That as it may be ; we are all liable to have our moments 
of weakness, when we look on life as book- men paint it, and 
think of being probationers where we are put to enjoy. I 
angled for you as the fisherman plays with the trout. Nor 
did I overlook the danger of deception. You were faithful 
on the whole ; though I protest against your ever again act- 
ing so much against my interests as to intrigue to keep the 
game from coming to my net. ’ ’ 

“ When, and how, have I done this ? You have yourself 
admitted — ’ ’ 

“ That the Royal Caroline was prettily handled, and 
wrecked by the will of Heaven ; I speak of nobler quarries, 
now, than such as any hawk may fly at. Are you a woman- 
hater, that you would fain frighten the noble-minded 
woman, and the sweet girl, who are beneath our feet at 
this moment, from enjoying the high privilege of your 
company ? ’ ’ 

“Was it treacherous to wish to save a woman from a fate 


3 12 


Ube IReb IRover 


like that, for instance, which hung over them both this very 
day ? For, while your authority exists in this ship, I do not 
think there can be danger, even to her who is so lovely. ’ * 

“ By heavens, Wilder, you do me no more than justice. 
Before harm should come to that fair innocent, with this 
hand would I put the match into the magazine, and send 
her, all spotless as she is, to the place from which she seems 
to have fallen.” 

Our adventurer listened greedily to these words, though 
he little liked the strong language of admiration with which 
the Rover was pleased to clothe his generous sentiment. 

“How did you know of my wish to serve them?” he 
demanded, after a pause, which neither seemed in any hurry 
to break. 

‘ ‘ Could I mistake your language ? I thought it plain 
enough when I heard it.” 

“ Heard ! My confession was then made when I least 
believed it.” 

The Rover did not answer ; but his companion now 
understood, from his smile, that he had been the dupe of an 
audacious and completely successful masquerade, and that 
in the old seaman Bob Bunt, he had in truth been commun- 
ing with his commander in person. The deportment of 
Joram, and the unaccountable disappearance of the skiff, 
were now completely explained. Startled at discovering 
how intricate were the toils in which he had rushed, and 
possibly vexed at being so thoroughly overreached, he made 
several turns across the deck without speaking. 

“I confess myself deceived,” he at length said, “and 
henceforth I shall submit to you as a master from whom 
one may learn, but who can never be surpassed. The 
landlord of the ‘ Foul Anchor,’ at least, acted in his proper 
person, whoever might have been the aged seaman ! ” 

“Honest Joe Joram! A useful man to a distressed 
mariner, you must allow. How did you like the Newport 
pilot?” 

“ Was he an agent too? ” 

“For the job merely. I trust such knaves no further than 
their own eyes can see. But, hist ! Heard you nothing ? ’ ’ 


XTbe IReb IRovcr 


313 


“ I thought a rope had fallen into the water.’ ’ 

“Ay, it is so. Now you shall find how thoroughly I 
overlook these turbulent gentlemen.” 

The Rover then cut short the dialogue, which was grow- 
ing deeply interesting to his companion, and moved with a 
light step to the stern, over which he hung, for a few mo- 
ments, by himself, like a man who found a pleasure in gaz- 
ing at the surface of the sea. But a slight noise, like that 
produced by agitated ropes, caught the ear of his compan- 
ion, who placed himself at the side of his commander, 
where he did not wait long without gaining another proof 
of the manner in which he, as well as all the rest of the 
crew were circumvented by the devices of their leader. 

A man was guardedly, and, from his situation, with some 
difficulty, moving round the quarter of the ship, by the aid 
of the ropes and mouldings, which afforded him sufficient 
means to effect his object. He soon reached a stem-ladder 
where he stood suspended, endeavoring to discern which of 
the two forms that were overlooking his proceedings was 
that of the individual he sought. 

“ Are you there, Davis? ” said the Rover, in a voice but 
little above a whisper, first laying his hand lightly on Wil- 
der, as if he would tell him to attend. “ I fear you have 
been seen or heard.” 

“ No fear of that, your honor. I got out at the port by 
the cabin bulkhead ; the afterguard are all as sound asleep 
as if they had the watch below.” 

“ It is well. What news do you bring from the people ? ” 

“ Rord ! your honor may tell them to go to church, and 
the stoutest sea-dog of them all would n’t dare to say he had 
forgotten his prayers.” 

“You think them in a better temper than they were? ” 

“I know it, sir. Not but what the will to w'ork mis- 
chief is to be found in two or three of the men ; but they 
dare not trust each other. Your honor has such winning 
ways with you, that one never knows when he is on safe 
grounds in setting up to be master.” 

“ This is ever the way with your disorganizes,” muttered 
the Rover, just loud enough to be heard by Wilder. “A 


314 


tTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


little more honesty might make them dangerous ; as it is, 
their knavery defeats itself. And how did these fellows 
receive the lenity? Did I well? or must there yet be 
punishment ? ’ ’ 

“It is better as it stands, sir. The people know you 
have a good memory, and they talk already of the danger 
of adding another reckoning to this they feel certain you 
have not forgotten. There is the captain of the forecastle, 
who is a little bitter as usual, and the more so, just now, on 
account of the knock-down blow he got from the black.” 

‘ ‘ He is a troublesome rascal ; a settling day must come 
at last between us.” 

“ It will be easy to expend him in boat-service, sir, and 
the ship’s company will be all the better for his absence.” 

“Well, well ; no more of him,” interrupted the Rover, a 
little impatiently, as if he liked not that his companion 
should look too deeply into the policy of his government so 
early in his initiation. “ I will see to him. If I mistake 
not, fellow, you overacted your own part to-day, and were 
a little too forward in leading on the trouble.” 

“ I hope your honor will remember that the crew had 
been piped to mischief; besides, there could be no great 
harm in washing the powder off a few marines. ’ ’ 

f 1 Ay, but you pressed the point after your officer had 
seen fit to interfere. Be wary in future, lest you make the 
acting too true to nature, and get applauded in a manner 
quite as natural.” 

The fellow promised caution and amendment ; and then 
he was dismissed with his reward in gold, and an injunction 
to be secret in his return. So soon as the interview was 
ended,, the Rover and Wilder resumed their walk ; the 
former having made sure that no eavesdropper was at hand 
to pry into the secret of his connection with the spy. The 
silence was again long and thoughtful. 

‘ ‘ Good ears ’ ’ (recommenced the Rover) ‘ ‘ are nearly as 
important, in a ship like this, as a stout heart. The rogues 
forward must not be permitted to eat of the fruit of knowl- 
edge, lest we, who are in the cabins, die.” 

‘ ‘ This is a perilous service in which we are embarked, ’ ’ 


Ube 1 Reb 1Ro\>er 


315 


observed his companion, involuntarily exposing his real 
thoughts. 

The Rover made many turns across the deck, before he 
answered. When he spoke, it was in a voice so bland and 
gentle, that his words sounded more like the admonitory 
tones of a considerate friend, than like the language of a 
man who had long been associated with a set of beings so 
rude and unprincipled as those whom he commanded. 

“You are still on the threshold of life, Mr. Wilder,” he 
said, ‘ ‘ and it is all before you to choose the path on which 
you will go. As yet, you have been present at no viola- 
tion of what the world calls its laws ; nor is it too late to 
say you never will be. I may have been selfish in my wish 
to gain you ; but try me, and you will find that self, though 
often active, cannot, or does not, long hold its dominion 
over my mind. Say but the word, and you are free ; it is 
easy to destroy the little evidence which exists of your hav- 
ing made one of my crew. The land is not far beyond that 
streak of fading light ; before to-morrow’s sun shall set, 
your foot may be on it. ’ ’ 

“ Then, why not both ! If this irregular life be not fit for 
me, it is unfit for you. Could I hope — ” 

“What would you say?” calmly demanded the Rover, 
after waiting sufficiently long to be sure his companion hesi- 
tated to continue. ‘ ‘ Speak freely ; your words are for the 
ears of a friend.” 

“Then, as a friend will I unbosom myself. You say the 
land is here in the west. It would be easy for you and 
me, men nurtured on the sea, to lower this boat into the 
water ; and, profiting by the darkness, long ere our absence 
could be known, we should be lost to the eye of any who 
might seek us.” 

‘ ‘ Whither would you steer ? ” 

“To the shores of America, where shelter and peace 
might be found in a thousand secret places.” 

“ Would you have a man, who has so long lived a prince 
among his followers, become a beggar in a land of stran- 
gers? ” 

“But you have gold. Are we not masters here? Who 


3i 6 


Uhc 1Ret> IRover 


is there that might dare even to watch our movements, until 
we were pleased ourselves to throw off the authority with 
which we are clothed ? Kre the middle watch was set, all 
might be done. ’ ’ 

“ Alone ! Would you go alone ? ” 

“ No — not entirely — that is — it would scarcely become us, 
as men, to desert the females to the brutal power of those we 
should leave behind . ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ And would it become us, as men, to desert those who 
put faith in our fidelity ? Mr. Wilder, your proposal would 
make me a villain ! lawless, in the opinion of the world, 
have I long been ; but a traitor to my faith and plighted 
word, never ! The hour may come when the beings whose 
world is in this ship shall part ; but the separation must be 
open, voluntary, and manly. You never knew what drew 
me into the haunts of man, when we first met in the town 
of Boston? ” 

“Never,” returned Wilder, in a tone of deep disappoint- 
ment ; for hope had caused his very heart to beat quicker. 

“You shall hear. A sturdy follower had fallen into the 
hands of the minions of the law. It was necessary to 
save him. He was a man I little loved, but he was one 
who had been honest, after his own opinions. I could not 
desert the victim ; nor could any but I effect his escape. 
Gold and artifice succeeded ; the fellow is now here to sing 
the praises of his commander to the crew. Could I forfeit a 
good name, obtained at so much hazard ? ’ ’ 

“ You would forfeit the good opinions of knaves, to gain a 
reputation among those whose commendations are an honor.” 

“ I know not. You little understand the nature of man, 
if you are now to learn that he has pride in maintaining a 
reputation for even vice, when he has once purchased noto- 
riety by its exhibition. Besides, I am not fitted for the 
world, as it is found among your dependent colonists.” 

You claim your birth, perhaps, from the mother coun- 
try ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I am no better than a poor provincial, sir ; a humble 
satellite of the might}^ sun. You have seen my flags, Mr. 
Wilder : but there was one wanting among them all ; ay, 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


317 


and one which, had it existed, it would have been my pride, 
my glory, to have upheld with my heart’s best blood ! ” 

‘ ‘ I know not what you mean. ’ ’ 

“ I need not tell a seaman like you, how many noble 
rivers pour their waters into the sea along this coast of 
which we have been speaking — how many wide and com- 
modious havens abound there — or how many sails whiten 
the ocean, that are manned by men who first drew breath 
on that spacious and peaceful soil? ” 

“ Surely I know the advantages of my native country.” 
“I fear not,” quickly returned the Rover. “Were they 
known as they should be, by you and others like you, the 
flag I mentioned would soon be found in every sea ; nor 
would the natives of our country have to succumb to the 
hirelings of a foreign prince.” 

“ I will not affect to misunderstand your meaning ; for I 
have known others as visionary as yourself in fancying that 
such an event may arrive.” 

“ May ! As certain as that star will set in the ocean, or 
that day is to succeed to night, it must. Had that flag been 
abroad, Mr. Wilder, no man would have ever heard the 
name of the Red Rover.” 

“ The king has a service of his own, and it is open to all 
his subjects alike.” 

“ I could be a subject of a king ; but to be the subject of 
a subject, Wilder, exceeds the bounds of my poor patience. 
I was educated, I might almost have said, born, in one of 
his vessels ; and how often have I been made to feel, in 
bitterness, that an ocean separated my birthplace from the 
footstool of his throne ! Would you think it, sir ; one of 
his commanders dared to couple the name of my country 
with an epithet I will not wound your ear by repeating ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ I hope you taught the scoundrel manners. ’ ’ 

The Rover faced his companion, and there was a ghastfy 
smile on his face, as he answered, — 

“He never repeated the offence. ’Twas his blood or 
mine ; dearly did he pay the forfeit of his brutality. 

“You fought like men, and fortune favored the injured 
party?” 


3 i8 


Ube IReb IRover 


“We fought, sir. But I had dared to raise my hand 
against a native of the holy isle ! It is enough, Mr. Wilder ; 
the king rendered a faithful subject desperate, and he has 
had reason to repent it. Enough for the present ; another 
time I may say more. Goodnight.” 

Wilder saw the figure of his companion descend the 
ladder to the quarter-deck ; and then he was left to pursue 
the current of his thoughts alone, during the remainder of a 
watch which, to his impatience, seemed without an end. 




CHAPTER XXII. 


“ She made good view of me ; indeed, so much, 

That sure, methought, her eyes had lost her tongue, 

For she did speak in starts distractedly.” 

Twelfth Night. 

T HOUGH most of the crew of the Dolphin slept, there 
were bright and anxious eyes still open in a differ- 
ent part of the vessel. The Rover had relinquished 
his cabin to Mrs. Wyllys and Gertrude, from the 
moment they entered the ship, and we shall shift the scene 
to that apartment (already sufficiently described to render the 
reader familiar with the objects it contained) resuming the 
action of the tale at an early part of the discourse just re- 
lated in the preceding chapter. 

It will piot be necessary to dwell upon the feelings with 
which the females had witnessed the disturbances of that 
day ; the conjectures and suspicions to which they gave rise 
may be apparent in what is about to follow. A mild soft 
light fell from the lamp of wrought and massive silver, that 
was suspended from the upper deck, obliquely upon the 
pensive countenance of the governess, while a few of its 
strongest rays lighted the more youthful features of her 
companion. The background was occupied, like a dark 
shadow in a picture, by the dusky form of the slumbering 
Cassandra. At the moment when the curtain must be 
drawn from before this quiet scene, the pupil was seeking, 
in the averted eyes of her instructress, an answer to a ques- 
tion which the tongue of the latter appeared reluctant to 
accord. 

“ I repeat, my dearest madam,” said Gertrude, “ that the 
319 


3 2 ° 


Uhc IRefc IRcwer 


fashion of these ornaments, no less than their materials, is 
extraordinary in a ship. ’ * 

“ And what would you infer from the fact ? ” 

‘ ‘ I know not. I would that we were safe in the house of 
my father.” 

‘ ‘ God grant it ! It may be imprudent to be longer silent. 
Gertrude, frightful, horrible suspicions have been engendered 
in my mind by what we have this day witnessed.” 

The cheek of the young girl blanched, while she de- 
manded an explanation with her eyes. 

‘ ‘ I have long been familiar with the usages of a vessel of 
war, ’ ’ continued the governess, who had only paused in order 
to review the causes of her suspicions in her own mind, 

‘ ‘ but never have I seen such customs, as each hour unfolds 
in this vessel.” 

“ Of what do you suspect her ? ” 

The look of engrossing, maternal anxiety, that the lovely 
interrogator received in reply to this question, might have 
startled one whose mind had been more accustomed to muse 
on the depravity of human nature than the spotless being 
who received it ; but to Gertrude it conveyed no more than 
a general and vague sensation of alarm. 

‘ ‘ Why do you thus regard me, my governess — my 
mother ? ’ ’ she exclaimed, bending forward, and laying a 
hand imploringly on the arm of the other, as if to arouse 
her from a trance. 

“Yes, I will speak. It is safer that you should know 
the worst, than that your innocence should be liable to be 
abused. I distrust the character of this ship, and of all that 
belong to her.” 

“All!” 

“Yes; of all.” 

“There may be wicked and evil-intentioned men in his 
majesty’s fleet ; but we are surely safe from them, since fear 
of punishment, if not fear of disgrace, will be our protection. ” 

“ I dread lest we find that the lawless spirits who harbor 
here submit to no laws except those of their own enacting, 
nor acknowledge any authority but that which exists among 
themselves.” 


XTbe IRefc 1Rov>er 


3 21 


44 This would make them pirates ! ” 

“ And pirates, I fear, we shall find them.” 

“Pirates? What! all?” 

“ Even all. Where one is guilty of such a crime, it is 
clear that the associates cannot be free from suspicion.” 

“But, dear madam, we know that one among them, at 
least, is innocent ; since he came with ourselves, and under 
circumstances that will not admit of deception.” 

‘ ‘ I know not. There are different degrees of turpitude, 
as there are different tempers to commit it ! I fear that all 
who may lay claim to be honest, in this vessel, are here.” 

The eyes of Gertrude sank to the floor, and her lips 
quivered, partly in a tremor she could not control, and in 
part through an emotion that she found inexplicable to her- 
self. 

“ Since we know whence our late companion came,” she 
said, in an undertone, ‘ ‘ I think you do him wrong, however 
right your suspicions may prove as to the rest.” 

4 4 I may possibly be wrong as to him, I admit, but it is 
important that we know the worst. Command yourself, my 
love ; our young attendant ascends : some knowledge of the 
truth may be gained from him.” 

Mrs. Wyllys gave her pupil an expressive sign to com- 
pose her features, while she herself resumed a calmness of 
mien that might have deceived one far more practised than 
the boy, who now came slowly into the cabin. Gertrude 
buried her face in a part of her attire, while the former 
addressed the youth, in a tone equally divided between kind- 
ness and concern. 

“Roderick, child,” she commenced, “your eyelids are 
getting heavy. The service of a ship must be new to you ? ’ ’ 

“ It is so old as to keep me from sleeping on my watch,” 
coldly returned the boy. 

“A careful mother would be better for one of your years, 
than the school of the boatswain. What is your age, 
Roderick ? ” 

“ I have seen years enough to be both wiser and better,” 
he answered, not without a shade of thought on his brow. 
44 Another month will make me twenty.” 


31 


3 22 


Ube IReb IRover 


“ Twenty ! you trifle with my curiosity, urchin. ” 

‘ ‘ Did I say twenty, madam ? Fifteen would be much 
nearer to the truth. ’ ’ 

“ I believe you. And how many of those years have you 
passed upon the water ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ But two, in truth ; though I often think them ten ; and 
yet there are times when they seem but a day ! ” 

“You are romantic early, boy. And how do you like the 
trade of war ? ’ ’ 

“War!” 

“Of war. I speak plainly, do I not? Those who serve 
in a vessel that is constructed expressly for battle, follow the 
trade of war.” 

“ O ! yes ; war is certainly our trade. ’ ’ 

“ And have you yet seen any of its horrors ? Has this ship 
been in combat since your service began ? ” 

“This ship!” 

“ Surely, this ship ; have you ever sailed in another? ” 

“ Never.” 

“ Then, it is of this ship that one must question you. Is 
prize-money plenty among your crew ? ’ ’ 

“ Abundant ; they never want.” 

‘ ‘ Then the vessel and captain are both favorites. The sailor 
loves the ship and commander that give him an active life.” 

“Ay, madam; our lives are active here. And some 
there are among us, too, who love both ship and com- 
mander.” 

“ And have you mother, or friend, to profit by your earn- 
ings?” 

“ Have I—” 

Struck with the tone of stupor with which the boy re- 
sponded to her queries, the governess turned her head, to 
cast a rapid glance at the language of his countenance. He 
stood in a sort of senseless amazement, looking her full in 
the face, but with an eye so vacant as to prove that he was 
not sensible of the image that filled it. 

“Tell me, Roderick,” she continued, careful not to awaken 
his jealousy by any sudden allusion to his manner, “ tell me 
of this life of yours. You find it merry ? ” 


TLhc IRefc IRcwer 


3 2 3 


“ I find it sad.” 

“ ’Tis strange. The young ship-boys are usually among 
the merriest of mortals. Perhaps your officer treats you with 
severity.” 

No answer was given. 

“Iam right ; your captain is a tyrant.” 

You are wrong ; never has he said a harsh or unkind 
word to me. ’ * 

Ah ! then he is gentle and kind. You are very happy, 
Roderick.” 

“ I — happy, madam ? ” 

“ I speak plainly, and in English, — happy.” 

“ O ! yes ; we are all very happy here.” 

“It is well. A discontented ship is no paradise. And 
you are often in port, Roderick, to taste the sweets of the 
land?” 

“ I care but little for the land, madam, could I only have 
friends in the ship that love me. ’ ’ 

“ And you have not ? Is not Mr. Wilder your friend ? ” 

“ I know but little of him ; I never saw him before — ” 

“ When, Roderick ? ” 

“ Before we met in Newport.” 

“In Newport?” 

“Surely you know we both came from Newport, last ? ” 

“ Ah ! I comprehend you. Then your acquaintance with 
Mr. Wilder commenced at Newport ? It was while the ship 
was lying off the fort ? ’ ’ 

“ It was. I carried him the order to take command of 
the Bristol trader. He had only joined us the night 
before. ’ ’ 

“So lately ! It was a young acquaintance, indeed. But 
I suppose your commander knew his merits? ” 

“ It is so hoped among the people. But — ” 

“ You were speaking, Roderick.” 

“None here dare question the captain for his reasons. 
Even / am obliged to be mute. ’ ’ 

“ Even you ! ” exclaimed Mrs. Wyllys, in a surprise that 
for the moment overcame her self-restraint. But the thought 
in which the boy was lost appeared to prevent his observing 


3 2 4 


tlbe IRefc IRoper 


the sudden change in her manner. Indeed, so little did he 
know what was passing, that the governess touched the hand 
of Gertrude, and silently pointed out the insensible figure of 
the lad, without the slightest apprehension that the move- 
ment would be observed. 

“ What think you, Roderick,” continued his interrogator, 

‘ ‘ would he refuse to answer us also ? ’ ’ 

The boy started ; and, as consciousness shot into his glance, 
it fell upon the countenance of Gertrude. 

“Though her beauty be so rare,” he answered, with ve- 
hemence, “ let her not prize it too highly. Woman cannot 
tame his temper ! ” 

“ Is he then so hard of heart ? Think you that a question 
from this fair one would be denied ?” 

“Hear me, lady,” he said, with an earnestness that was 
no less remarkable than the plaintive softness of the tones in 
which he spoke ; “I have seen more in the last two crowded 
years of my life than many youths would witness between 
childhood and the age of man. This is no place for inno- 
cence and beauty. O ! quit the ship, if you leave it as you 
came, without a deck to lay your head under ! ’ ’ 

“ It may be too late to follow such advice,” Mrs. Wyllys 
gravely replied, glancing her eye at the silent Gertrude as 
she spoke. “ But tell me more of this extraordinary vessel, 
Roderick ; you were not born to fill the station in which I 
find you ? ’ ’ 

The boy shook his head, but remained with downcast 
eyes, apparently indisposed to answer. 

“ How is it that I find the Dolphin bearing different hues 
to-day from what she did yesterday ? and why is it that 
neither then, nor now, does she resemble, in her paint, the 
slaver of Newport harbor ? ” 

“ And why is it,” returned the boy, with a smile, in which 
melancholy struggled powerfully with bitterness, “ that none 
can look into the secret heart of him who makes these 
changes at will ? If all remained the same but the paint of 
the ship, one might still be happy in her ! ’ ’ 

“Then, Roderick, you are not happy ; shall I intercede 
with Captain Heidegger for your discharge ? ” 


TTbe IReb 1 Rov>et 


325 

‘ ‘ I could never wish to serve another. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ How ! Do you complain, and yet embrace your fetters ? ’ ’ 

* ‘ I complain not. ’ ’ 

The governess eyed him closely ; and, after a moment’s 
pause, she continued, — 

“Is it usual to see such riotous conduct among the crew 
as we have this day witnessed ? ’ ’ 

“ It is not. You have little to fear from the people ; he 
who brought them under knows how to keep them down.” 

“ They are enlisted by order of the king? ” 

“ The king ! Yes, surely ; a king who has no equal.” 
“But they dared to threaten the life of Mr. Wilder. Is 
a seaman, in a king’s ship, usually so bold ? ” 

The boy glanced a look at Mrs. Wyllys, as if he would 
say he understood her affected ignorance of the character of 
the vessel, but he chose to continue silent. 

“Think you, Roderick,” continued the governess, who 
no longer deemed it necessary to pursue her covert in- 
quiries on that particular subject; “think you, Roderick, 
that the Rov — that is that Captain Heidegger will suffer us 
to land at the first port which offers ? ” 

“ Many have been passed since you reached the ship.” 
“Ay, many that are inconvenient; but when one shall 
be gained where his pursuits will allow his ship to enter? ” 

“ Such places are not common.” 

“ But, should it occur, do you think he will permit us to 
land ? We have gold to pay him for his trouble.” 

‘ * He cares not for gold. I never ask him for it, that he 
does not fill my hand.” 

“You must be happy, then. Plenty of gold will coim 
pensate for a cold look at times.” 

“ Never ! ” returned the boy, with quickness and energy. 
“ Had I the ship filled with the dross, I would give it all to 
bring a look of kindness into his eye.” 

Mrs. Wyllys started, no less at the fervid manner of the 
lad than at the language. Rising from her seat, she ap- 
proached nigher to him, and in a situation where the light 
of the lamp fell fuller upon his person. She saw the large 
drop that broke out from beneath a long and silken lash to 


326 


Uhc IRefc IRovev 


roll down a cheek which, though embrowned by the sun, 
was gradually blushing with the color that stole into it, as 
her own gaze became more settled ; and then her eyes fell 
slowly and keenly along the whole form of the lad, until 
they reached the feet that were so delicate, that they 
seemed barely able to uphold him. The usually mild coun- 
tenance of the governess changed to a look of cold regard, 
and her whole form elevated itself in chaste matronly dig- 
nity, as she sternly asked, — 

‘ ‘ Boy, have you a mother ? ’ ’ 

“ I know not,” was the answer that came from lips that 
scarcely severed to permit the smothered sounds to escape. 

“It is enough ; another time I will speak further with 
you. Cassandra will in future do the service of this cabin ; 
when I have need of you, the gong shall be touched.” 

The head of Roderick fell to his bosom. He shrunk from 
before the cold and searching eye which followed his form 
until it had disappeared through the hatch. The moment 
he had disappeared Mrs. Wyllys caught Gertrude to her 
bosom, straining the astonished but affectionate girl to her 
heart in a way to show how precious she was at that fearful 
moment. 

A gentle tap at the door broke in upon the flood of re- 
flections which were crowding on the mind of the gover- 
ness. She gave the customary answer ; and, before time was 
allowed for any interchange of ideas between her and her 
pupil, the Rover entered. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

“ I melt, and am not of stronger earth than others.” 

Coriolanus. 

T HE females received their visitor with a restraint 
which will be easily understood when the subject 
of their recent conversation is recollected. The 
sinking of Gertrude’s form was hurried, but her 
governess maintained the coldness of her air with greater 
self-composure. Still there was anxious concern in the 
watchful glance that she threw towards her guest, as if she 
would anticipate the motive of his visit before he spoke. 

The countenance of the Rover himself was thoughtful to 
gravity. He bowed as he came within the influence of the 
lamp, and his voice was heard muttering some low and hasty 
syllables, that conveyed no meaning to the ears of his lis- 
teners. Indeed, so great was the abstraction in which he 
was lost, that he had evidently prepared to throw his person 
on the vacant divan, without explanation or apology, like 
one who took possession of his own ; though recollection 
returned just in time to prevent this breach of decorum. 
Smiling, and repeating his bow, with a still deeper inclina- 
tion, he advanced with perfect self-possession to the table, 
where he expressed his fears that Mrs. Wyllys might deem 
his visit unseasonable, or perhaps not announced with suffi- 
cient ceremony. During this short introduction his voice 
was bland as woman’s, and his mien as courteous as if he 
actually felt himself an intruder in the cabin of a vessel in 
which he was literally a monarch. 

“But unseasonable as the hour is,” he continued, “ I 
should have gone to my cot with a consciousness of not hav- 
ing discharged all the duties of an attentive and considerate 

327 



328 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


host, had I forgotten to reassure you of the tranquillity of 
the ship, after the scene you have witnessed. I have pleas- 
ure in saying that the humor of my people is already ex- 
pended and that lambs, in their nightly folds, are not more 
placid than they are at this minute in their hammocks.” 

‘ ‘ The authority that so promptly quelled the disturbance 
is happily ever present to protect us,” returned the cautious 
governess ; “we repose entirely on your discretion and gen- 
erosity.” 

“You have not misplaced your confidence. From the 
danger of mutiny, at least, you are exempt.” 

“ And from all others, I trust.” 

“ This is a wild and fickle element we dwell on,” he an- 
swered, while he bowed his acknowledgment, taking the 
seat to which the other invited him by a motion of the 
hand ; ■ ‘ but you know its character, and need not be told 
that we seamen are seldom certain of any of our movements. 
I loosened the cords of discipline myself to-day, and in 
some measure invited the broil that followed ; but it is past, 
like the hurricane and the squall ; the ocean is not now 
smoother than the tempers of my knaves.” 

“I have often witnessed these rude sports in vessels of 
the king, but I do not remember to have known any more 
serious result than the settlement of some ancient quarrel, 
or some odd freak of nautical humor, which has commonly 
proved as harmless as it has been quaint. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Ay ; but the ship which often runs the hazard of the 
shoals gets wrecked at last,” muttered the Rover. “I 
rarely give the quarter-deck up to the people without keep- 
ing a vigilant watch on their humors ; but — to-day — ” 

“ You were speaking of to-day.” 

“ Neptune, with his coarse devices, is no stranger to you, 
madam? ” 

“ I have often seen the god in times past.” 

“ ’T was thus I understood it ; under the line? ” 

“ And elsewhere.” 

“Elsewhere!” repeated the other, in a tone of disap- 
pointment. “ Ay, the sturdy despot is to be found in every 
sea ; and hundreds of ships, and ships of size, too, are to be 


Qftc IRefc 1Rox>er 


329 


seen scorching in the calms of the equator. It was idle to 
give the subject a second thought ! ” 

“You have been pleased to observe something that has 
escaped my ear.” 

The Rover started ; for he had again rather muttered than 
spoken the preceding sentence aloud. Casting a searching 
glance around him, as it might be to assure himself that 
no impertinent listener had found means to pry into the 
mysteries of a mind he seldom saw fit to lay open to the 
examination of his associates, he regained his self-posses- 
sion, and resumed the discourse with a manner as undis- 
turbed as if it had received no interruption. 

“ I had forgotten that your sex is as timorous as it is fair,” 
he added, with a smile so insinuating and gentle, that the 
governess cast an involuntary and uneasy glance towards 
her charge, “or I might have been earlier with my assur- 
ances of safety.” 

“They are welcome even now.” 

“And your young and gentle friend,” he continued, in- 
clining towards Gertrude, though he still addressed his 
words to the governess; “her slumbers will be none the 
heavier for what has passed ? ’ ’ 

“The innocent seldom find an uneasy pillow.” 

“ There is a holy and unsearchable mystery in that truth : 
the innocent pillow their heads in quiet ! Would to God 
the guilty might find some refuge, too, against the sting of 
thought ! But we live in a world, and in a time, when men 
cannot be sure even of themselves. ’ * 

He then paused, and looked about him with a smile so 
haggard, that the anxious governess unconsciously drew 
nigher her pupil, like one who was ready to yield protec- 
tion against the uncertain designs of a maniac. Her visitor, 
however, remained in a silence so long and deep, that she 
felt the necessity of removing the awkward embarrassment 
of their situation, by speaking herself. 

‘ ‘ Do you find Mr. Wilder as much inclined to mercy as 
yourself? ” she asked. “ There would be mercy in his for- 
bearance, since he appeared to be the particular object of the 
anger of the mutineers.” 


33 ° 


Ube IReb IRover 


“ And yet you saw that he was not without friends. You 
witnessed the devotion of the men who stood forth so 
bravely in his behalf? ” 

‘ ‘ I did ; and find it remarkable that he should have been 
able, in so short a time, to conquer thus completely two so 
stubborn natures. ’ ’ 

“ Four-and- twenty years are not an acquaintance of a 
day.” 

“ And does their friendship bear so old a date? ” 

“I have heard that time counted between them. It is 
very certain the youth is bound to those uncouth compan- 
ions of his by some extraordinary" tie ! Perhaps this is not 
the first of their services.” 

Mrs. Wyllys looked grieved. Although prepared to be- 
lieve that Wilder was a secret agent of the Rover, she had 
endeavored to hope his connection with the freebooters was 
susceptible of some explanation more favorable to his char- 
acter. However he might be implicated in the common 
guilt of those who pursued the reckless fortunes of that pro- 
scribed ship, it was evident he bore a heart too generous to 
wish to see her, and her young and guileless charge, the 
victims of the licentiousness of his associates. His repeated 
and mysterious warnings no longer needed explanation. 
Indeed, all that had been dark and inexplicable, both in the 
previous and unaccountable glimmerings of her own mind, 
and in the extraordinary conduct of the inmates of the ship, 
was at each instant becoming capable of solution. She now 
remembered, in the person and countenance of the Rover, 
the form and features of the individual who had spoken the 
passing Bristol trader from the rigging of the slaver — a form 
which had unaccountably haunted her imagination during 
her residence in his ship, like an image recalled from some 
dim and distant period. Then she saw at once the difficulty 
that Wilder might have in laying open a secret in which not 
only his life was involved, but which, to a mind that was 
not hardened in vice, involved a penalty not less severe — 
that of the loss of their esteem. In short, a good deal of 
that which the reader has found no difficulty in comprehend- 
ing was also becoming clear to the faculties of the gov erness, 


Ube IReb IRover 


331 


though much still remained obscured in doubts that she could 
neither solve, nor yet entirely banish from her thoughts. On 
all these points she had leisure to reflect, for her guest, or 
host, whichever he might be called, seemed in no wise dis- 
posed to interrupt her reverie. 

“ It is wonderful,” Mrs. Wyllys at length resumed, “ that 
beings so uncouth should be influenced by the same attach- 
ments as those which unite the educated and the refined.” 

“It is wonderful, as you say,” returned the other, like 
one awakening from a dream. “ I would give a thousand 
of the brightest guineas that ever came from the mint of 
George II. to know the private history of that youth.” 

“Is he then a stranger to you?” demanded Gertrude, 
with the quickness of thought. 

The Rover turned an eye on her, that was vacant for the 
moment, but into which consciousness and expression began 
to steal as he gazed, until the foot of the governess was 
trembling with the nervous excitement that pervaded her 
frame. 

“ Who shall pretend to know the heart of man? ” he an- 
swered, again inclining his head as it might be in acknowl- 
edgment of her perfect right to his homage. “All are 
strangers till we can read their thoughts.” 

“To pry into the mysteries of the human mind is a 
privilege which few possess, * ’ coldly remarked the governess. 
“The world must be often tried and thoroughly known, 
before we can pretend to judge of the motives of those 
around us.” 

“ And yet it is a pleasant world to those who have the 
heart to make it merry,” cried the Rover, with one of those 
startling transitions which marked his manner. “ To him 
who is stout enough to follow the bent of his humor, all is 
easy. Do you know, that the true secret of the philosopher 
is not in living forever, but in living while he can ? He who 
dies at fifty, after his fill of pleasure, has had more of life 
than he who drags his feet through a century, bearing the 
burden of the world’s caprices, and afraid to speak above his 
breath, lest, forsooth, his neighbor should find that his 
words were evil” 


332 


Ube IRefc 1 Rover 


“ And yet there are some who find their greatest pleasure 
in pursuing the practices of virtue. ’ ’ 

“ ’Tis lovely in your sex to say it,” he answered, with an 
air that the sensitive governess fancied was gleaming with 
the growing licentiousness of a freebooter. She would now 
gladly have dismissed her visitor ; but a certain flashing of 
the eye, and a manner that was becoming gay by a species 
of unnatural effort, admonished her of the danger of offend- 
ing one who acknowledged no law but his own will. As- 
suming a tone and a manner that were kind, while they 
upheld the dignity of her sex, and pointing to sundry in- 
struments of music that formed part of the heterogeneous 
furniture of the cabin, she adroitly turned the discourse by 
saying,— 

“One whose mind can be softened by harmony, and 
whose feelings are so evidently alive to the influence of 
sweet sounds, should not decry the pleasures of innocence. 
This flute, and yon guitar, both call you master.” 

‘ ‘ And, finding these flimsy evidences about my person, 
you are willing to give me credit for the accomplishments 
you mention ! Here is another mistake of miserable mor- 
tality ! Seeming is the every-day robe of honesty. Why 
not give me credit for kneeling, morning and night, 
before that glittering bauble?” pointing to the diamond 
crucifix, which hung, as usual, near the door of his own 
apartment. 

‘ ‘ I hope, at least, that the Being whose memory is in- 
tended to be revived by that image, is not without your 
homage. In the pride of his strength and prosperity, man 
may think lightly of the consolations that can flow from a 
power superior to humanity ; but those who have oftenest 
proved their value, feel deepest the reverence which is their 
due. ’ ’ 

The look of the governess was averted ; but, profoundly 
filled with the feeling she expressed, her reflecting eye 
turned to him again, as she uttered the simple sentiment. 
The gaze she met was earnest and thoughtful as her own. 
Tiffing a finger, he laid it on her arm, with a motion so 
light as to be scarcely perceptible, while he asked, — 


Ube IReb iRover 


333 


“ Think you we are to blame, if our temperaments incline 
more to evil than power is given to resist? ” 

“It is only those who attempt to walk the path of life 
alone that stumble. I shall not offend your manhood, if I 
ask, do you never commune with God? ” 

“ It is long since that name has been heard in this vessel, 
lady, except to aid in that miserable scoffing and profanity 
which simpler language made too dull. But what is He, 
that unknown Deity, more than what man in his ingenuity 
has seen fit to make Him ? ” 

“ ‘ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God,’ ” she 
answered, in a voice so firm that it startled even the ears of 
one so long accustomed to the turbulence and grandeur of 
his wild profession. “ ‘ Gird up now thy loins like a man ; 
for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where 
wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth ? 
Declare, if thou hast understanding.’ ” 

The Rover gazed wildly on the flushed countenance of 
the speaker. Bending his face aside, he said aloud, rather 
giving utterance to his thoughts than pursuing the dis- 
course, — 

“ There is nothing more in this than what I have often 
heard, and yet it comes over my feelings with the freshness 
of native air ! Lady, repeat thy words ; change not a syl- 
lable, nor vary the slightest intonation of the voice, I pray 
thee.” 

Though much amazed, and even alarmed at the request, 
Mrs. Wyllys complied ; delivering the holy language of the 
inspired writers with a fervor that found its support in the 
strength of her own faith. Her auditor listened like a being 
enthralled. For nearly a minute, neither eye nor attitude 
was changed, but he stood at the feet of her who had so 
simply and so powerfully asserted the majesty of God, mo- 
tionless as the mast against which he leaned. It was long 
after her accents had ceased, that he drew a deep respira- 
tion, and again spoke. 

“This is re-treading the whole path of life at a single 
stride,’’ he said. “I know not why my pulses, which in 
common are like iron, beat so irregularly now. Lady, this 


334 


Uhe IRefc 1 Rover 


little hand of thine might check a temper that has so often 
braved — ’ ’ 

He ceased ; for his eye following his own hand, which had 
unconsciously touched that of Mrs. Wyllys, was fastened on 
the member he had named, which he appeared to study as 
if examining a relic. Drawing a sigh, like one who awak- 
ened from an agreeable illusion, he turned away, leaving 
the sentence unfinished. 

“You would have music !” he recklessly exclaimed. 
‘ ‘ Then music there shall be, though its symphony be rung 
upon a gong ! ” 

As he spoke, the wayward and vacillating being we have 
been attempting to describe struck the instrument so quick 
and powerfully as to drown all repfy in the din. Though 
deeply mortified that he had so quickly escaped from the 
influence she had partially acquired, and secretly displeased 
at the unceremonious manner in which he had seen fit to 
announce his independence again, the governess was aware 
of the necessity of concealing her disappointment. 

“This is certainly not the harmony I invited,” she said, 
when the overwhelming sounds had ceased to fill the ship ; 
“nor do I think it of a quality to favor the slumbers of 
those who are less dangerous in their hammocks than when 
awake. ’ ’ 

“ Fear nothing for them. The seaman will sleep soundly 
with his ear near the port at which the cannon bellows, and 
he awakes at the call of the boatswain’s whistle. He is too 
deeply schooled in habit, to think he has heard more than a 
note of the flute ; stronger and fuller than common, if you 
will, but still a sound that has no interest for him. Another 
tap, would have sounded the alarm of fire ; these three 
touches say no more than music. It was the signal for the 
band. The night is still, and favorable for their art, and 
we will listen to sweet sounds awhile.” 

His words were scarcely uttered before the low chords 
of wind instruments were heard without, where the men had 
probably stationed themselves by some previous order of 
their captain. The Rover smiled, as if he exulted in this 
prompt proof of the sort of despotic, or rather magical, 


Ube IReb IRover 


335 


power he wielded ; and, throwing his form on the divan, he 
sat listening to the sounds which followed. 

The strains which now rose upon the night, and which 
spread themselves soft and melodiously abroad upon the 
water, would have done credit to more regular artists. The 
air was wild and melancholy, and, perhaps, it was the more 
in accordance with the present humor of the man for whose 
ear it was created. Then, losing the former character, the 
whole power of the music was concentrated in softer and 
still gentler sounds, as if the genius who had given birth 
to the melody were pouring out the feelings of his soul in 
pathos. The temper of the Rover’s mind answered to the 
changing expression of the music ; and, when the strains 
were sweetest and most touching, he bowed his head like 
one who wept. 

Though secretly under the influence of the harmony them- 
selves, Mrs. Wyllys and her pupil could but gaze on the 
singularly constituted being into whose hands they had 
been cast by their evil fortune. The former was filled 
with admiration at the fearful contrariety of passions which 
could reveal themselves in the same individual, under so 
very different and so dangerous forms ; while the latter, 
judging with the indulgence of her years, was willing to 
believe that a man whose emotions could be thus easily and 
kindly excited, was rather the victim of circumstances than 
the creator of his own habits. 

“There is Italy in those strains,” said the Rover, when 
the last chord died upon his ears ; “ sweet, indolent, luxuri- 
ous, forgetful Italy ! It has never been your chance, madam, 
to visit that land, so mighty in its recollections, and so im- 
potent in its actual condition? ” 

The governess made no reply ; but, bowing her head, in 
turn, her companions believed she was submitting also to 
the influence of the music. At length, impelled by another 
changeful impulse, the Rover advanced towards Gertrude ; 
and addressing her with a courtesy that would have done 
credit to a different scene, he said, — 

“ One who in common speaks music should not have 
neglected the gifts of nature. You sing ? ” 


336 


ZTbe IRefc 1Ro\?er 


Had Gertrude possessed the power he affected to believe, 
her voice would have denied its services at his call. Bend- 
ing to his compliment, she murmured her apologies in words 
that were barely audible. He listened intently ; but, with- 
out pressing a point that it was easy to see was unwelcome, 
he turned away, and gave the gong a light quick tap. 

“ Roderick,” he continued, when the light footsteps of the 
lad were heard upon the stairs that led into the cabin be- 
low, ‘ ‘ do you sleep ? ’ * 

The answer was slow and smothered ; of course it was in 
the negative. 

“ Apollo was not absent at the birth of Roderick, madam. 
The lad can raise such sounds as have been known to melt 
the stubborn feeling of a seaman. Go, place yourself by 
the cabin door, good Roderick, and bid the music run a low 
accompaniment to your words. ’ ’ 

The boy obeyed, stationing his slight form so much in 
shadow, that his countenance was not visible to those who 
sat within the stronger light of the lamp. 

The instruments then commenced' a gentle symphony, 
which was soon ended ; and twice did they begin the air, 
but no voice was heard. 

“Words, Roderick, words; we are but dull interpreters 
of the meaning of the flutes.” 

The boy then began in a full, rich, contralto voice, which 
betrayed a tremor, however, that threatened more than once 
to interrupt his song. The words, so far as they might be 
distinguished, ran as follows : — 

“ The land was lying broad and fair 
Behind the western sea ; 

And holy solitude was there 
And sweetest liberty. 

“ The ling’ring sun, at evening, hung 
A glorious orb, divinely beaming 
On silent lake and tree ; 

And ruddy light was o’er all streaming, 

Mark, man ! for thee ; 

O’er valley, lake, and tree ! 


TEbe IReb 1Rov>er 


337 


“ And now a thousand maidens stray. 

Or range the echoing groves ; 

While fluttering near, on pinions gay, 

Fan twice ten thousand loves. 

In that soft clime, at even time, 

Hope says — ” 

“ Enough of this, good Roderick,” impatiently interrupted 
his master. “There is too much of the Corydon in that 
song for the humor of a mariner. Sing us of the sea and 
its pleasures, boy ; and roll out the strains in a fashion that 
will suit a sailor’s fancy.” 

The lad was mute, perhaps in disinclination to the task, 
perhaps from inability to comply. 

“ What, Roderick ! does the muse desert thee? or is thy 
memory getting dull? You see the child is wilful in his 
melody ; he must sing of loves and sunshine, or he fails. 
Now touch us a stronger chord, my men, and put life into 
your cadences, while I troll a sea air for the honor of the 
ship.” 

The band caught the humor of their master (for he well 
deserved the name), sounding a powerful and graceful sym- 
phony, to prepare the listeners for the song of the Rover. 
Those treacherous and beguiling tones which so often stole 
into his voice when speaking, did not mislead expectation 
as to its powers. It proved to be equally rich, full, deep, 
and melodious. Favored by these natural advantages, and 
aided by an exquisite ear, he rolled out the following stan- 
zas, in a manner that was singularly divided between that 
of the reveller and the man of sentiment. The words were 
probably original, for they smacked strongly of his own 
profession, and were not entirely without a touch of the 
peculiar taste of the individual. 

“ All hands, unmoor! unmoor! 

Hark to the hoarse, but welcome sound, 

Startling the seaman’s sweetest slumbers, 

The groaning capstan’s laboring round, 

The cheerful fife’s enlivening numbers ; 

And ling’ring idlers join the brawl, 

And merry ship-boys swell the call, 

All hands unmoor ! unmoor ! 


338 


Zlbe IRefc IRover 


“ The cry ’s * A sail ! a sail ! * 

Brace high each nerve to dare the fight, 

And boldly steer to seek the foeman ; 

One secret prayer to aid the right, 

And many a secret thought to woman. 

Now spread the flutt’ring canvas wide, 

And dash the foaming sea aside ; 

The cry ’s ‘ A sail ! a sail ! * 

“ Three cheers for victory ! 

Hushed be each plaint o’er fallen brave ; 

Still every sigh to messmate given ; 

The seaman’s tomb is in the wave ; 

The hero’s latest hope is heaven ! 

High lift the voice in revelry ! 

Gay raise the song, the shout, the glee ; 

Three cheers for victory ! ” 

When he had ended the song, and without waiting to 
listen if any words of compliment were to succeed an effort 
that might lay claim to great excellence both in tones and 
execution, he arose ; and, desiring his guests to command 
the services of his band at pleasure, he wished them “ soft 
repose and pleasant dreams, ’ ’ and coolly descended into the 
lower apartments, apparently for the night. Mrs. Wyllys 
and Gertrude, notwithstanding they had been amused, or 
rather seduced, by the interest thrown around a manner 
that was so wayward, while it was never gross, felt a sensa- 
tion, as he disappeared, like that produced by breathing a 
freer air, after having been too long compelled to respire 
the pent atmosphere of a dungeon. The former regarded 
her pupil with eyes in which open affection struggled with 
inward solicitude ; but neither spoke, since a slight move- 
ment near the door of the cabin reminded them that they 
were not alone. 

“Would you have further music, madam?” asked Rod- 
erick, stealing timidly out of the shadow as he spoke ; “I 
will sing you to sleep, if you will ; but I am choked when 
he bids me to be merry against my feelings.” 

The brow of the governess contracted, and she was evi- 
dently preparing herself to give a stem and repulsive an- 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


339 


swer ; but the plaintive tones, and shrinking, submissive 
form of the other, pleaded so strongly to her heart, that the 
frown passed away, leaving in its place the reproving look 
which chastens the frown of maternal concern. 

“Roderick,” she said, “I thought we should have seen 
thee no more to-night ! ’ ’ 

“You heard the gong. Although he can be so gay, and 
can raise such thrilling sounds in his pleasanter moments, 
you have never yet listened to him in anger.” 

“ Is his anger so very fearful ? ” 

“ Perhaps to me it is more frightful than to others ; but 
I find nothing so terrible as a word of his, when his mind is 
moody.” 

“ Is he then harsh to thee? ” 

“Never.” 

“You contradict yourself, Roderick. He is, and he is 
not. Have you not said how terrible you find his moody 
language ? ’ ’ 

“Yes ; for I find it changed. Once he was never thought- 
ful or out of humor, but latterly he is not himself.” 

Mrs. Wyllys did not answer. The language of the boy 
was certainly much more intelligible to her than to her 
attentive but unsuspecting companion ; for, while she mo- 
tioned to the lad to retire, Gertrude manifested a desire to 
gratify the curious interest she felt in the life and manners 
of the freebooter. The signal, however, was authoritatively 
repeated, and the lad slowly, and with reluctance with- 
drew. 

The governess and her pupil then retired into their own 
state-room ; and, after devoting many minutes to those 
nightly offerings and petitions which neither ever suffered 
any circumstances to cause them to neglect, they slept in 
the consciousness of innocence, and in the hope of an all- 
powerful protection. Though the bell of the ship regularly 
sounded the hours throughout the watches of the night, 
scarcely another sound arose, during the darkness, to dis- 
turb the calm which seemed to have settled equally on the 
ocean and all that floated on its bosom. 





CHAPTER XXIV. 


“ But, for the miracle, 

I mean our preservation, few in millions 
Can speak like us.” 

Tempest. 


D URING these moments of treacherous calm, the 
Dolphin might have been likened to a slumbering 
beast of prey. But as nature limits the period of 
repose to the creatures of the animal world, so it 
would seem that the inactivity of the freebooters was not 
doomed to any long continuance. With the morning sun a 
breeze came across the water, breathing the flavor of the 
land, and setting the sluggish ship again in motion. 
Throughout all that day, with a wide reach of canvas 
spreading along her booms, her course was held towards the 
south. Watch succeeded watch, and night came after day, 
and still no change was made in her direction. Then the 
blue islands were seen heaving up, one after another, out of 
the sea. The prisoners of the Rover, for thus the females 
were now constrained to consider themselves, silently 
watched each hillock of green that the vessel glided past, 
each naked and sandy key, or each mountain-side, until, by 
the calculations of the governess, they were already steering 
amid the western archipelago. 

During all this time no question was asked which in the 
smallest manner betrayed to the Rover the consciousness 
of his guests, that he was not conducting them towards the 
promised port of the continent. Gertrude wept for the 
sorrow of her father ; but her tears flowed in private, or 
were poured upon the bosom of her governess. Wilder 








Ube IReb IRover 


341 


she avoided, with an intuitive consciousness that he was no 
longer the character she had wished to believe ; but to all 
in the ship she struggled to maintain an equal air and a 
serene eye. In this deportment, safer than any impotent 
entreaties might have proved, she was strongly supported 
by her governess, whose knowledge of mankind had early 
taught her that virtue was never so imposing, as when it 
knew best how to maintain its equanimity. On the other 
hand, both the commander of the ship and his lieutenant 
sought no other communication with the inmates of the 
cabin than courtesy appeared absolutely to require. 

The former, as if repenting already of having laid so 
bare the capricious humors of his mind, withdrew gradually 
into himself, neither seeking nor permitting familiarity with 
any ; while the latter appeared perfectly conscious of the 
constrained mien of the governess, and of the altered though 
still pitying eye of her pupil. Little explanation was nec- 
essary to acquaint Wilder with the reasons of this change. 
Instead of seeking the means to vindicate his character, 
however, he rather imitated their reserve. Little else was 
wanting to assure his former friends of the nature of his 
pursuits ; for even Mrs. Wyllys admitted to her charge, that 
he acted like one in whom depravity had not yet made such 
progress as to have destroyed that consciousness which is 
ever the surest test of innocence. 

We shall not detain the narrative to dwell upon the 
natural regrets in which Gertrude indulged, as this sad con- 
viction forced itself upon her understanding, nor to relate 
the gentle wishes in which she did not think it wrong to 
indulge, that one, who certainly was master of so many 
manly and generous qualities, might be made to see the 
error of his life, and to return to a course for which even 
her cold and nicely judging governess allowed nature had 
eminently endowed him. Perhaps the kind emotions that 
had been awakened in her bosom by the events of the last 
fortnight were not content to exhibit themselves in wishes 
alone ; and that petitions more personal, and even more 
fervent than common, mingled in her prayers ; but this is a 
veil which it is not our province to raise, the heart of one 


342 


Zhc IRefc IRover 


so pure and so ingenuous being the best repository for its 
own gentle feelings. 

For several days the ship had been contending with the 
unvarying winds of those regions. Instead of struggling, 
however, like a cumbered trader, to gain some given port, 
the Rover suddenly altered her course, gliding through one 
of the many passages that intersect the islands, with the 
ease of a bird that is settling to its nest. A hundred dif- 
ferent sails were seen, but all were avoided alike ; the policy 
of the freebooters teaching them the necessity of modera- 
tion, in a sea so crowded with vessels of war. After the 
vessel had shot through one of the straits which divide the 
chain of the Antilles, it issued in safety on the more open 
sea which separates them from the Spanish Main. The 
moment the passage was effected, and a broad and clear 
horizon was seen stretching on every side of them, a 
manifest alteration occurred in the mien of every indi- 
vidual of the crew. The brow of the Rover himself lost 
the look of care which had wrapped the whole man in a 
mantle of reserve, and his reserve disappeared, leaving him 
the reckless, wayward being we have described. Even the 
men, whose vigilance had needed no quickening in running 
the gauntlet of the cruisers which were known to swarm in 
the narrower seas, appeared to breathe a freer air, and 
sounds of merriment and thoughtless gayety were once more 
heard in a place over which the gloom of distrust had been 
so long and so heavily cast. 

On the other hand, the governess saw new ground for 
uneasiness in the course the vessel was taking. While the 
islands were in view, she had hoped that their captors only 
awaited a suitable occasion to place them in safety within 
the influence of the laws of some of the colonial govern- 
ments. Her own observation told her there was so much 
of what was once good, if not noble, mingled with the law- 
lessness of the two principal individuals in the vessel, that 
she saw nothing that was visionary in such an expectation. 
Even the tales of the time, which recounted the desperate 
acts of the freebooters, with wild and fanciful exaggerations, 
did not forget to include numberless instances of even chiv- 


Ube IRefc IRover 


343 


alrous generosity. In short, he bore the character of one 
who, while he declared himself the enemy of all, knew how 
to distinguish between the weak and the strong, and who 
often found as much gratification in repairing the wrongs of 
the former as in humbling the pride of the latter. 

But all her agreeable anticipations from this quarter were 
forgotten when the last island of the group sank into the sea 
behind them, and the ship lay alone on an empty ocean. 
As if ready to throw aside his mask, the Rover ordered the 
sails to be reduced ; and, neglecting the favorable breeze, 
the vessel was brought to the wind. No object calling for the 
immediate attention of her crew, the Dolphin came to a stand, 
in the midst of the waters, her officers and people abandoning 
themselves to their pleasures, or to idleness, as whim or 
inclination dictated. 

“ I had hoped that your convenience would have per- 
mitted us to land in some of his majesty’s islands,” said 
Mrs. Wyllys, speaking for the first time since her suspicions 
had been awakened on the subject of her quitting the ship, 
and addressing her words to the self-styled Captain Heideg- 
ger, just after the order to heave-to the vessel had been 
obeyed. ‘ ‘ I fear you find it irksome to be so long dispos- 
sessed of your cabin.” 

‘ ‘ It cannot be better occupied, ’ ’ he rather evasively replied ; 
though the observant and anxious governess fancied his eye 
was bolder; and his air under less restraint, than when she 
had before dwelt on the same topic. ‘ * If custom did not re- 
quire that a ship should wear the colors of some people, mine 
should always sport those of the fair.” 

“ And, as it is — ” 

“ As it is, I hoist the emblems that belong to the service 
I am in.” 

“ In fifteen days, that you have been troubled with my 
presence, it has never been my good fortune to see those 
colors set. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ No ! ’ ’ exclaimed the Rover, glancing his eye quickly at 
her, as if to penetrate her thoughts. ‘ ‘ Then shall the un- 
certainty cease on the sixteenth. Who ’s there, abaft ? ” 

“ No one better nor worse than Richard Fid,” returned the 


344 


Ube IReb IRovet 


individual in question, lifting his head from a locker into 
which it had been thrust, while its owner searched for some 
mislaid implement, and who added a little quickly, when he 
ascertained by whom he was addressed, “Always at your 
honor’s orders.” 

“ Ah ! ’Tis the friend of our friend,” the Rover observed 
to Mrs. Wyllys, with an emphasis which the other under- 
stood. ‘ ‘ He shall be my interpreter. Come hither, lad ; I 
have a word to exchange with you.” 

“ A thousand at your service, sir,” returned Richard, com- 
plying ; “ for, though no great talker, I have always some- 
thing uppermost in my mind which can be laid hold of at 
need.” 

“ I hope you find that your hammock swings easily in my 
ship ? ” 

“ I ’ll not deny it, your honor; an easier craft, especially 
upon a bowline, might be hard to find. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ And the cruise. I hope you also find the cruise such as 
a seaman loves ? ’ ’ 

“D’ye see, sir, I was sent from home with little schooling, 
and so I seldom make so free as to pretend to read the 
captain’s orders.” 

“But still you have your inclinations,” said Mrs. Wyllys 
firmly, determined to push the investigation even further than 
her companion had intended. 

“ I can’t say that I’m wanting in natural feeling, your 
ladyship,” returned Fid, endeavoring to manifest his admira- 
tion of the sex by the awkward bow he made to the gover- 
ness as its representative, “tho’f crosses and mishaps have 
come athwart me as well as better men. I thought as strong 
a splice was laid between me and Kate Whiffle as was ever 
turned into a sheet cable ; but then came the law, with its 
regulations and shipping articles, luffing short athwart my 
happiness, and making a wreck at once of all the poor girl’s 
hopes, and giving but a Flemish account of my comfort.” 

‘ ‘ It was proved that she had another husband ! ’ ’ dryly 
remarked the Rover. 

“Four, your honor. The girl had a love of company, 
and it grieved her to the heart to see an empty house ; but 


Ube IReb IRover 


345 


then, as it was seldom more than one of us could be in port 
at a time, there was no such need to make the noise they 
did about the trifle. But envy did it all, sir ; envy, and the 
greediness of the landsharks. Had every woman in the 
parish as many husbands as Kate, the devil a bit would they 
have taken up the precious time of judge and jury in look- 
ing into the manner in which a wench like her kept a quiet 
household. ’ * 

‘ ‘ And since that unfortunate repulse, you have kept your- 
self altogether out of the bands of matrimony ? ’ ’ 

“Ay, ay; since , your honor,” returned Fid, giving his 
commander another of those droll looks, in which a peculiar 
cunning struggled with a more direct and straight-going 
honesty, ‘ ‘ since , as you say rightly, sir ; though they talked 
of a small matter of a bargain that I had made with another 
woman, myself ; but, in overhauling the affair, they found 
that, as the shipping articles with poor Kate wouldn’t hold 
together, why, they could make nothing at all of me ; so I 
was whitewashed like a queen’s parlor, and sent adrift.” 

“And all this occurred after your acquaintance with Mr. 
Wilder?” 

“ Afore, your honor, afore. I was but a younker in the 
time of it, seeing that it is four-and-twenty years, come May 
next, since I have been towing at the stern of Master Harry. 
But then, as I have had a sort of family of my own since that 
day, why, the less need, you know, to be berthing myself 
again in any other man’s hammock.” 

“You were saying it is four-and-twenty years,” inter- 
rupted Mrs. Wyllys, “ since you made the acquaintance of 
Mr. Wilder?” 

“Acquaintance ! Lord, my lady, little did he know of 
acquaintances at that time ; though, bless him ! the lad has 
had occasion to remember it often enough since. 

‘ ‘ The meeting of two men of so singular merit must have 
been somewhat remarkable ? ” observed the Rover. 

“ It was for that matter remarkable enough, your honor ; 
though, as to the merit, notwithstanding Master Harry is 
often for overhauling that part of the account, I’ve set it 
down for just nothing at all,” 


346 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


“ I confess that, in a case where two men, both of whom 
are so well qualified to judge, are of different opinions, I feel 
at a loss to know which can have the right. Perhaps, by 
the aid of the facts, I might form a truer judgment.” 

“Your honor forgets the Guinea, who is altogether of my 
mind in the matter, seeing no great merit in the thing either. 
But, as you are saying, sir, reading the log is the only true 
way to know how fast a ship can go ; and so, if this lady and 
your honor have a mind to come at the truth of the affair, 
why, you have only to say as much, and I will put it all 
before you in creditable language.” 

“ There is reason in this proposition,” returned the Rover, 
motioning to his companion to follow to a part of the poop 
where they were less exposed to the observations of inquis- 
itive eyes. “ Now place the whole clearly before us ; and 
then you may consider the merits of the question disposed 
of definitely.” 

Fid was far from discovering the smallest reluctance to 
enter on the required detail ; and, by the time he had cleared 
his throat, freshened his supply of the weed, and otherwise 
disposed himself to proceed, Mrs. Wyllys had so far con- 
quered her reluctance to pry clandestinely into the secrets of 
others, as to yield to a curiosity she found unconquerable, 
and to take the seat to which her companion invited her by 
a gesture of his hand. 

“ I was sent early to sea, your honor, by my father,” com- 
menced Fid, after these little preliminaries had been observed, 
“ who was, like myself, a man that passed more of his time 
on the water than on dry ground ; though, as he was nothing 
more than a fisherman, he generally kept the land aboard ; 
which is, after all, little better than living on it altogether. 
Howsomever, when I went, I made a broad offing at once, 
fetching up on the other side of the Horn the very first pas- 
sage I made, which was no small journey for a new beginner, 
but then, as I was only eight years old — ” 

“Bight! you are speaking of yourself,” interrupted the 
disappointed governess. 

“ Certain, madam ; and, though genteeler people might be 
talked of, it would be hard to turn the conversation on any 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


347 


man who knows better how to rig or how to strip a ship. I 
was beginning at the right end of my story ; but, as I fan- 
cied your ladyship might not choose to waste time in hearing 
concerning my father and mother, I cut the matter short by 
striking in at eight years old, overlooking all about my birth 
and name, and such other matters as are usually logged in 
your every-day narratives.” 

“ Proceed,” she rejoined, resorting to a compelled resig- 
nation. 

“ My mind is pretty much like a ship that is about to slip 
off its ways, ’ ’ resumed Fid. ‘ ‘ If she makes a fair start, and 
there is neither jam nor dry-rub, smack she goes into the 
water, like a sail let run in a calm ; but, if she once brings 
up, a good deal of labor is to be gone through to set her in 
motion again. Now, in order to wedge up my ideas, and to 
get the story slushed, so that I can slip through it with ease, 
it is needful to overrun the part which I have j ust let go ; 
which is, how my father was a fisherman, and how I doubled 
the Horn. Ah ! here I have it again, clear of kinks, fake 
above fake, like a well-coiled cable ; so that I can pay it out 
as easily as the boatswain’s yeoman can lay his hand on a 
bit of ratline-stuff. Well, I doubled the Horn, as I was say- 
ing, and might have been the matter of four years cruising 
about among the islands and seas of those parts, which were 
none of the best known then, or, for that matter, now. 
After this, I served in his majesty’s fleet a whole war, and 
got three wounds and as much honor as I could stow beneath 
hatches. Well, then I fell in with the Guinea — the black, 
my lady, that you see turning in a new clue-garnet-block 
for the starboard clue of the fore-course.” 

“Ay; then you fell in with the African,” said the 
Rover. 

“Then we made our acquaintance; and although his 
color is no whiter than the back of a whale, I care not who 
knows it, after Master Harry, there is no man living who 
has an honester way with him, or in whose company I take 
greater satisfaction. To be sure, your honor, the fellow is 
sometimes contradictory, and has a great opinion of his 
strength, and thinks his equal is not to be found at a 


348 


Zhc 1Re£> IRover 


weather-earing, or in the bunt of a top-sail ; but then he is 
no better than a black, and one is not to be too particular 
in looking into the faults of such as are not actually his 
fellow-creatures. * ’ 

“ That would be uncharitable in the extreme. ” 

“ The very words the chaplain used to let fly aboard the 
Brunswick ! It is a great thing to have schooling, your 
honor ; since, if it does nothing else, it fits a man for a 
boatswain, and puts him on the track of steering the short- 
est course to heaven. But, as I was saying, there was I 
and Guinea shipmates, and in a reasonable way friends, for 
five years more ; and then the time arrived when we met 
with the mishap of the wreck in the West Indies.” 

“What wreck?” 

“ I beg your honor’s pardon ; I never swing my head- 
yards till I ’m sure the ship won’t luff back into the wind ; 
and, before I tell the particulars of the wreck, I will over- 
run my ideas, and see that nothing is forgotten that should 
of right be first mentioned.” 

The Rover, who saw by the expression of her counte- 
nance how impatient his companion was becoming for a 
sequel that approached so tardily, and how much she 
dreaded an interruption, made a significant sign to her to 
permit the straight-going tar to take his own course, as the 
best means of coming at the facts they both longed so 
much to hear. L,eft to himself, Fid soon took the neces- 
sary review of the transactions, in his own quaint manner ; 
and, having happily found that nothing which he considered 
as germane to the narrative was omitted, he proceeded at 
once to the more material, and what was to his auditors by 
far the most interesting part of his narrative. 

“Well, as I was telling your honor,” he continued, 
“ Guinea was then a main-top-man, and I was stationed in 
the same place aboard the Proserpine, a quick-going two- 
and-thirty, when we fell in with a bit of a smuggler, 
between the islands and the Spanish Main ; and so the cap- 
tain made a prize of her, and ordered her into port ; for 
which I have always supposed, as he was a sensible man ; 
he had his orders. But this is neither here nor there, see- 


tlbe IRefc lRov>er 


349 


ing that the craft had got to the end of her rope, and foun- 
dered in a heavy hurricane that came over us, mayhap a 
couple of days’ run to leeward of our haven. Well, she 
was a small boat ; and, as she took it into her mind to roll 
over on her side before she went to sleep, the master’s 
mate in charge, and three others, slid off her decks to the 
bottom of the sea, as I have always had reason to believe, 
never having heard anything of them since. It was here 
that Guinea first served me the good turn ; for, though we 
had often before shared hunger and thirst together, this was 
the first time he ever jumped overboard to keep me from 
taking salt water like a fish.” 

“ He kept you from drowning with the rest ? ” 

“ I ’ll not say just that much, your honor ; for there is 
no knowing what lucky accident might have done the same 
good turn for me. Howsomever, seeing that I can swim no 
better nor worse than a double-headed shot, I have always 
been willing to give the black credit for as much, though 
little has ever been said between us on the subject ; for no 
other reason, as I can see, than that settling-day has not yet 
come. Well, we contrived to get the boat afloat, and enough 
into it to keep body and soul together, and made the best of 
our way to the land, seeing that the cruise was, to all useful 
purposes, over in that smuggler. I need n’t be particular in 
telling this lady of the nature of boat-duty, as she has lately 
had some experience in that way herself ; but I can tell her 
this much : had it not been for that boat in which the black 
and myself spent the better part of ten days, she would have 
fared but badly in her own navigation.” 

“ Explain your meaning.” 

“ My meaning is plain enough, your honor, which is, that 
little else than the handy way of Master Harry in a boat 
could have kept the Bristol trader’s launch above water the 
day we fell in with it.” 

‘ ‘ But in what manner was your own shipwreck connected 
with the safety of Mr. Wilder?” demanded the governess, 
unable any longer to wait the dilatory explanation of the 
prolix seaman. 

“ In a very plain and natural fashion, my lady, as you 


35 ° 


Ube IRefc IRover 


will say yourself, when you come to hear the pitiful part of 
my tale. Well, there were I and Guinea rowing about in 
the ocean, on short allowance of all things but work, for 
two nights and a day, heading in for the islands ; for, 
though no great navigators, we could smell the land, and so 
we pulled away lustily ; for you consider it was a race in 
which life was the wager, until we made, in the pride of 
the morning, as it might be here at east-and-by-south, a 
ship under bare poles ; if a vessel can be called bare that 
had nothing better than the stumps of her three masts 
standing, and they without rope or rag to tell one her rig 
or nation. Howsomever, as there were three naked sticks 
left, I have always put her down for a full-rigged ship ; and 
when we got nigh enough to take a look at her hull, I made 
bold to say she was of English build. ’ ’ 

“You boarded her ? ” observed the Rover. 

‘ A small task that, your honor, since a starved dog was 
the whole crew she could muster to keep us off. It was a 
solemn sight when we got on decks, and one that bears hard 
on my manhood,’' continued Fid, with an air that grew 
more serious as he proceeded, ‘ ‘ whenever I have occasion 
to overhaul the log-book of memory.” 

“You found her people suffering of want ? ” 

“ We found a noble ship as helpless as a halibut in a 
tub. There she lay, a craft of some four hundred tons, 
water-logged and motionless as a church. It always gives 
me great reflection, sir, when I see a noble vessel brought 
to such a strait ; for one may liken her to a man who has 
been docked of his fins, and who is getting to be good for 
little else than to be set upon a cat-head to look out for 
squalls.” 

“ The ship was then deserted ? ” 

“ Ay, the people had left her, sir, or had been washed 
away in that gust that had laid her over. I never could 
come at the truth of the particulars. The dog had been 
mischievous, I conclude, about the decks; and so he had 
been lashed to a timber-head, the which saved his life, since 
happily for him he found himself on the weather-side when 
the hull righted a little, after her spars gave way. Well, sir. 


tlbe IReb 1 Rover 


351 


there was the dog, and not much else as we could see, though 
we spent half a day in rummaging round, in order to pick up 
any small matter that might be useful ; but then, as the 
entrances to the hold and cabin were full of water, why we 
made no great affair of the salvage after all. ’ ’ 

“ And then you left the wreck ? ” 

“Not yet, your honor. While knocking about among 
the bits of rigging and lumber above board, says Guinea, 
says he, ‘ Mister Dick, I hear some one making their plaints 
below.’ Now, I had heard the same noises myself, sir ; but 
had set them down as the spirits of the people moaning 
over their losses, and had said nothing of the same, for fear 
of stirring up the superstition of the black ; for the best 
of them are no better than superstitious niggers, my lady ; 
so I said nothing of wdiat I had heard, until he saw fit 
to broach the subject himself. Then we both turned-to to 
listening with a will, and sure enough the groans began to 
take a human sound. It was a good while, howsomever, 
before I could make up whether it was anything more than 
the complaining of the hulk itself ; for you know, my lady, 
that a ship which is about to sink makes her lamentations 
just like any other living thing.” 

“I do, I do,” returned the governess, shuddering; “I 
have heard them, and never will memory lose the recollec- 
tion of the sounds ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Ay, I thought you might know something of the same, 
and solemn groans they are ; but as the hulk kept rolling 
on the top of the sea, and no further signs of her going 
down, I began to think it best to cut into her abaft, in order 
to make sure that some miserable wretch had not been 
caught in his hammock, at the time she went over. Well, 
good will and an axe soon let us into the secret of the 
moans. ’ ’ 

“You found a child ? ” 

“And its mother, my lady. As good luck would have 
it, they were in a berth on the weather-side, and as yet the 
water had not reached them ; but pent air and hunger had 
nearly proved as bad as the brine. The lady was in the 
agony when we got her out ; and as to the boy, proud and 


352 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


strong as you now see him there on yonder gun, my lady, 
he was just so miserable, that it was no small matter to 
make him swallow the drop of wine and water that the 
Lord had left us, in order, as I have often thought since, to 
bring him up to be, as he at this moment is, the pride of 
the ocean ! ’ ’ 

“ But, the mother ? ” 

‘ ‘ The mother had given the only morsel of biscuit she 
had to the child, and was dying in order that the urchin 
might live. I never could get rightly into the meaning of 
the thing, my lady, why a woman, who is no better than a 
Lascar in matters of strength, nor any better than a booby 
in respect of courage, should be able to let go her hold of 
life in this quiet fashion, when many a stout mariner would 
be fighting for each mouthful of air the Lord might see fit to 
give. But there she was, white as the sail on which the 
storm has long beaten, and limber as a pennant in a calm, 
with her poor skinny arm around the lad, holding in her 
hand the very mouthful that might have kept her own soul 
in the body a little longer. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ What did she, when you brought her to the light ? ’ ’ 

“ What did she ! ” repeated Fid, whose voice was getting 

thick and husky, ‘ ‘ why, she did a d d honest thing ; she 

gave the boy the crumb, and motioned, as well as a dying 
woman could motion, that we should have an eye over him 
till the cruise of life was up.” 

“ And was that all? ” 

“ I have always thought she prayed ; for something passed 
between her and one who was not to be seen, if a man might 
judge by the fashion in which her eye3 were turned aloft, 
and her lips moved. I hope, among others, she put in a 
good word for Richard Fid ; for certain she had as little 
need to be asking for herself as anybody. But no man will 
ever know what she said, seeing that her mouth was shut 
from that time forever after.” 

“She died?” 

* * Sorry am I to say it. But the poor lady was past swal- 
lowing when she came into our hands, and then it was but 
^ittle we had to offer her. A quart of water, with, mayhap, 


TOe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


353 


a gill of wine, a biscuit, and a handful of rice, was no great 
allowance for two hearty men to pull a boat some seventy 
leagues within the tropics. Howsomever, when we found 
no more was to be got from the wreck, and that, since the 
air had escaped by the hole we had cut, she was settling fast, 
we thought it best to get out of her ; and sure enough we 
were none too soon, seeing that she went under just as we 
had twitched the jolly-boat clear of the suction.” 

‘ ‘ And the boy — the deserted child ! ’ ’ exclaimed the gov- 
erness, whose eyes had now filled to overflowing. 

“ There you are all aback, my lady. Instead of deserting 
him, we brought him away with us, as we did the only other 
living creature to be found about the wreck. But we had 
still a long journey before us, and, to make the matter worse, 
we were out of the track of the traders. So I put it down as 
a case for a council of all hands, which was no more than I 
and the black, since the lad was too weak to talk, and little 
could he have said otherwise in our situation. So I begun 
myself, saying, says I, ‘ Guinea, we must either eat this here 
dog, or this here boy. If we eat the boy, we shall be no 
better than the people in your own country,’ who, you know, 
my lady, are cannibals, ‘ but if we eat the dog, poor as he is, 
we may make out to keep soul and body together, and to 
give the child the other matters.’ So Guinea, he says, says 
he, 1 I’ve no occasion for food at all ; give ’em to the boy,’ 
says he, ‘ seeing that he is little and has need of strength.’ 
Howsomever, Master Harry took no great fancy to the dog, 
which we soon finished between us, for the plain reason that 
he was so thin. After that, we had a hungry time of it our- 
selves ; for, had we not kept up life in the lad, you know, 
there was so little of it that it would soon have slipped 
through our fingers.” 

“And you fed the child, though fasting yourselves? ” 

“ No, we were n’t altogether idle, my lad y, seeing that we 
kept our teeth jogging on the skin of the dog, though I will 
not say that the food was over savory ; and then, as we had 
no occasion to lose time in eating, we kept the oars going 
so much the livelier. Well, we got in at one of the islands 
after a time, though neither I nor the nigger had much to 

23 


354 


Ube IReb IRover 


boast of as to strength or weight when we made the first 
kitchen we fell in with.” 

“And the child?” 

“ O ! he was doing well enough ; for, as the doctors after- 
wards told us, the short allowance on which he was put did 
him no harm.” 

“You sought his friends ? ” 

“ Why, as for that matter, my lady, so far as I have been 
able to discover, he was with his best friends already. We 
had neither chart nor bearings by which we knew how to 
steer in search of his family. His name he called Master 
Harry, by which it is clear he was a gentleman born, as in- 
deed any one may see by looking at him ; but not another 
word could I learn of his relations or country, except that, 
as he spoke the English language and was found in an Eng- 
lish ship, there is a natural reason to believe he is of English 
build himself. ’ ’ 

“ Did you not learn the name of the ship ? ” demanded the 
attentive Rover, in whose countenance the traces of a lively 
interest were very distinctly discernible. 

“ Why, as to that matter, your honor, schools were scarce 
in my part of the country ; and in Africa, you know, there is 
no great matter of learning ; so that, had her name been out 
of water, which it was not, we might have been bothered to 
read it. Howsomever, there was a horse-bucket kicking 
about her decks, and which, as luck would have it, got 
jammed in with the pumps in such a fashion that it did not 
go overboard until we took it with us. Well, this bucket had 
a name painted on it ; and, after we had leisure for the thing, 
I got Guinea, who has a natural turn at tattooing, to rub it 
into my arm in gunpowder, as the handiest way of logging 
these small particulars. Your honor shall see what the black 
has made of it.” 

So saying, Fid very coolly doffed his jacket, and laid bare 
to the elbow one of his brawny arms, on which the blue im- 
pression was still very plainly visible. Although the letters 
were rudely imitated, it was not difficult to read, in the skin, 
the words “ Ark, of Eynnhaven.” 

“ Here, then, you had a clue at once to find the relatives 


Ube IReb iRover 


355 


of the boy,” observed the Rover, after he had deciphered the 
letters. 

‘ ‘ It seems not, your honor ; for we took the child with us 
aboard the Proserpine, and our worthy captain carried sail 
hard after the people ; but no one could give any tidings of 
such a craft as the ‘ Ark, of Lynnhaven ’ ; and, after a 
twelvemonth, or more, we were obliged to give up the 
chase. ’ ’ 

“ Could the child give no account of his friends?” de- 
manded the governess. 

4 4 But little, my lady ; for the reason that he knew but 
little about himself. So we gave the matter over alto- 
gether ; I and Guinea, and the captain, and all of us, turn- 
ing-to to educate the boy. He got his seamanship of the 
black and myself, and mayhap some little of his manners 
also ; and his navigation and Latin of the captain, who 
proved his friend till such a time as he was able to take 
care of himself, and, for that matter, some years after- 
wards.” 

“And how long did Mr. Wilder continue in a king’s 
ship?” asked the Rover, in a careless and apparently an 
indifferent manner. 

“ Long enough to learn all that is taught there, your 
honor, ’ ’ was the evasive reply. 

‘ ‘ He came to be an officer, I suppose ? ’ * 

“If he did n’t, the king had the worst of the bargain. 
But what is this I see hereaway, atween the backstay and 
the vang ? It looks like a sail ! or is it only a gull flapping 
his wings before he rises ? ’ * 

“Sail, ho!” called the lookout from the mast-head. 
“ Sail, ho ! ” was echoed from top and deck ; the glittering, 
though distant object having struck a dozen vigilant eyes at 
the same instant. The Rover was compelled to lend his 
attention to a summons so often repeated ; and Fid profited 
by the circumstance to quit the poop, with the hurry of 
one who was not sorry for the interruption. Then the 
governess arose too, and, thoughtful and melancholy, she 
sought the privacy of her cabin. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

“Their preparation is to-day by sea.” 

Antony and Cleopatra . 

“ AIL, ho ! ” in the little frequented sea in which the 

Rover lay, was a cry that quickened every pulsa- 
tion in the bosoms of her crew. Many weeks 
had now, according to their method of calcula- 
tion, been entirely lost in the visionary and profitless plans 
of their chief. They were not of a temper to reason on the 
fatality which had forced the Bristol trader from their toils ; 
it was enough, for their rough natures, that the rich spoil 
had escaped them. Without examining into the causes of 
this loss, they were disposed to visit their disappointment on 
the head of the innocent officer who had been charged with 
the care of a vessel that they already considered a prize. 
Here, then, was at length an opportunity to repair their loss. 
The stranger was about to encounter them in a part of the 
ocean where succor was nearly hopeless, and where time 
might be afforded to profit to the utmost, by any success 
that the freebooters should obtain. Every man in the ship 
seemed sensible of these advantages ; and, as the words 
sounded from mast to yard, and from yard to deck, they 
were taken up in cheerful echoes from fifty mouths, which 
repeated the cry until it was heard issuing from the inmost 
recesses of the vessel. 

The Rover himself manifested unusual satisfaction at this 
new prospect of a capture. He was quite aware of the 
necessity of some brilliant or of some profitable exploit, to 
curb the rising tempers of his men ; and long experience 
had taught him that he could draw the cords of discipline 

356 


XTbe IRefc iRover 


357 


the tightest in moments that appeared the most to require 
the exercise of his own high courage and consummate skill. 
He walked forward, therefore, among his people, with a 
countenance that was no longer buried in reserve, speaking 
to several, whom he addressed by name, and of 'whom he did 
not even disdain to ask opinions concerning the character 
of the distant sail. When a sort of implied assurance that 
their recent offences were overlooked had thus been given, 
he summoned Wilder, the general, and one or two others 
of the superior officers, to the poop, where they all dis- 
posed themselves to make more particular and more certain 
observations, by the aid of a half-dozen excellent glasses. 

Many minutes were now passed in intense scrutiny. 
The day was cloudless, the wind fresh without being heavy, 
the sea long, even, and far from high, and, in short, all 
things combined, as far as is ever seen on the restless ocean, 
not only to aid their examination, but to favor those subse- 
quent evolutions which each instant rendered more probable 
would become necessary. 

“ It is a ship ! ” said the Rover, lowering his glass, the 
first to proclaim the result of the long inspection. 

“ It is a ship ! ” echoed the general, across whose weather- 
worn features a ray of something like satisfaction was mak- 
ing an effort to shine. 

“A full-rigged ship!” continued a third, relieving his 
eye in turn, and answering the grim smile of the soldier. 

“There must be something to hold up all those lofty 
spars,” resumed their commander. “A hull of price is 
beneath. But you say nothing, Mr. Wilder ! You make 
her out — ’ ’ 

“ A ship of size,” returned our adventurer, who, though 
silent, had been far from the least interested in his investiga- 
tions. ‘ ‘ Does my glass deceive me — or — ’ ’ 

“Or what, sir?” 

“ I see her to the heads of her courses.” 

“ You see her as I do. It is a tall ship, on an easy bow- 
line, with everything set that will draw. And she is stand- 
ing hitherward. Her lower sails have lifted within five 
minutes.” 


358 


Uhc IRefc IRover 


“ I thought as much. But — ” 

“But what, sir? There can be little doubt but she is 
heading north-and-by-east. Since she is so kind as to spare 
us the pains of a chase, we will not hurry our movements. 
Tet her come on. How like you the manner of the stran- 
ger’s advance, general ? ” 

“ Unmilitary, but enticing ! There is a look of the mines 
about her very royals.” 

“And you, gentlemen, do you also see the fashion of a 
galleon in her upper sails? ” 

“’Tis not unreasonable to believe it,” answered one of 
the inferiors. “The Dons are said to run this passage often 
in order to escape speaking us gentlemen who sail with 
roving commissions. ’ ’ 

“Ah, your Don is a prince of the earth ! There is char- 
ity in lightening his golden burden, or the man would sink 
under it, as did the Roman matron under the pressure of 
the Sabine shields. I think, by your eye, you see no such 
gilded beauty in the stranger, Mr. Wilder? ” 

“ It is a heavy ship ! ” 

“ The more likely to bear a noble freight. You are new, 
sir, to this merry trade of ours, or you would know that size 
is a quality we greatly esteem. If they carry pennants, we 
leave them to meditate on the many ‘ slips which exist be- 
tween the cup and the lip ’ ; if stored with metal no more 
dangerous than that of Potosi, they generally sail the faster 
after passing a few hours in our company.” 

“ Is not the stranger making signals ? ” demanded Wilder, 
quickly. 

“ Is he so alert ? A good lookout must be had, when a 
vessel, that is merely steadied by her stay-sails, can be seen 
so far. Vigilance is a never-failing sign of value ! ” 

There was a pause, during which all the glasses, in imi- 
tation of Wilder’s, were again raised in the direction of the 
stranger. Different opinions were given ; some affirming 
and some doubting the fact of the signals. The Rover 
himself was silent, though his observation was keen, and 
long continued. 

“ We have wearied our eyes till sight is getting dim,” he 


XTbe IReb IRover 


359 


said. ‘ ‘ I have found the use of trying fresh organs when 
my own have refused to serve me. Come hither, lad,” he 
continued, addressing a man who was executing some deli- 
cate job in seamanship on the poop, at no great distance 
from the spot where the group of officers had placed them- 
selves ; ‘ ‘ come hither ; tell me what you make of the sail 
in the southwestern board.” 

The man proved to be Scipio, who had been chosen, for 
his expertness, to perform the task in question. Placing his 
cap on the deck, in a reverence even deeper than that which 
the seaman usually manifests towards his superior, he lifted 
the glass in one hand, while with the other he covered the 
eye for which at that moment he had no particular use. 
No sooner did the wandering instrument fall on the distant 
object, than he dropped it again, and fastened his look in 
a sort of stupid admiration on Wilder. 

‘ ‘ Did you see the sail ? ’ ’ demanded the Rover. 

“ Masser can see him wid he naked eye.” 

“ Ay, but what do you make of him with the glass?” 

“ He’m a ship, sir.” 

* * True. On what course ? ’ ’ 

“ He got he starboard tacks aboard, sir.” 

“ Still true. Has he signals abroad ? ” 

“He’m got free new cloths in he main-top-gallant-royal, 
sir.” 

“ His vessel is all the better for the repairs. Did you see 
his flags ? ” 

“ He’m show no flag, masser.” 

“ I thought as much myself. Go forward, lad— stay— one 
often gets a true idea by seeking it where it is not thought to 
exist. Of what size do you take the stranger to be? ” 

“ He’m just seven hundred and fifty tons, masser.” 

“ How’s this ! The tongue of your negro, Mr. Wilder, 
is as exact as a carpenter’s rule. The fellow speaks of the 
size of a vessel that is hull down, with an air as authori- 
tative as a runner of the king’s customs could pronounce 
on the same after she had been submitted to the oflice 
admeasurement.” 

“You will have consideration for the ignorance of the 


3 < 5 ° 


tr be IReb IRover 


black ; men of his unfortunate race are seldom skilful in 
answering interrogatories. ’ ’ 

“Ignorance!” repeated the Rover, glancing his eye 
uneasily, and with a rapidity peculiar to himself, from 
one to the other, and from both to the rising object in 
the horizon ; ‘ ‘ skilful ! I know not : the man has no air of 
doubt. You think her tonnage precisely that which you 
have said? ” 

The large dark eyes of Scipio rolled, in turn, from his 
new commander to his ancient master, while for a moment 
his faculties appeared to be lost in confusion. But the un- 
certainty continued only for a moment. He no sooner read 
the frown that was gathering on the brow of the latter, than 
the air of confidence with which he had pronounced his for- 
mer opinion vanished in a look of obstinacy so settled, that 
one might well have despaired of ever driving or enticing 
him again to seem to think. 

“I ask you, if the stranger may not be a dozen tons 
larger or smaller than what you have just named ? ” contin- 
ued the Rover, when he found his former question was not 
likely to be soon answered. 

“ He’m just as masser wish ’em,” returned Scipio. 

“ I wish him a thousand ; he will then prove the richer 
prize.” 

“ I s’posehe’m quite a t’ousand, sir.” 

“Or a snug ship of three hundred, if lined with gold, 
might do.” 

“He look berry just like free hundred.” 

“To me it seems a brig.” 

“ I fink him a brig, too, masser.” 

“ Or, possibly, after all, the stranger may prove a 
schooner, with many lofty and light sails.” 

“A schooner often carry a royal,” returned the black, 
resolute to acquiesce in all the other said. 

“ Who knows it is a sail at all ! Forward there ! It 
may be well to have more opinions than one on so weighty 
a matter. Forward there ! send the fore-top-man that is 
called Fid upon the poop. Your companions are so 
intelligent and so faithful, Mr. Wilder, that you are 


Ube 1 Reb iRover 


361 

not to be surprised if I show an undue desire for their 
opinions.” 

Wilder compressed his lips, and the rest of the group 
manifested a good deal of amazement ; but the latter had 
been too long accustomed to the caprice of their commander, 
and the former was too wise to speak at a moment when 
his humor seemed at the highest. The top-man, however, 
was not long in making his appearance, and then the chief 
saw fit to pursue his purpose. 

‘‘And you think it questionable whether it be a sail at 
all? ” he continued. 

“ He’m sartain nothing but a fly-away,” returned the ob- 
stinate black. 

‘‘You hear what your friend the negro says, Master Fid ; 
he thinks that yonder object, which is lifting so fast to lee- 
ward, is not a sail.” 

As the top-man saw no sufficient reason for concealing his 
astonishment at this wild opinion, it was manifested with all 
the embellishments with which the individual in question 
usually delivered his sentiments. After casting a short 
glance in the direction of the sail, in order to assure him- 
self there had been no deception, he turned his eyes in great 
disgust on Scipio, to vindicate the credit of the association 
at the expense of some little contempt for the ignorance of 
his companion. 

“ What the devil do you take it for, Guinea ? — a 
church? ” 

“I t’ink he’m church, too,” responded the acquiescent 
black. 

“ Tord help the dark-skinned fool. Your honor knows 

that conscience is d nably overlooked in Africa, and will 

not judge the nigger hardly for any little blunder he may 
make on account of religion. But the fellow is a thorough 
seaman, and should know a top-gallant-sail from a weather- 
cock. Now, look you, S’ ip, for the credit of your friends, 
if you ’ve no great pride on your own behalf, just tell 
his—” 

“ It is of no account,” interrupted the Rover; “ take the 
glass yourself, and pass an opinion on the sail in sight.” 


362 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


Fid scraped his foot, made a low bow, in acknowledg- 
ment of the compliment, and then, depositing his little tar- 
paulin on the deck of the poop, he very composedly, and, 
as he flattered himself, very understanding^, disposed of 
his person to take the desired view. The gaze of the top- 
man was far longer than that of his black companion ; and 
it is to be presumed, in consequence, much more accurate. 
Instead, however, of venturing any sudden opinion, when 
his eye was wearied, he lowered the glass, and with it his 
head, standing long in the attitude of one whose thoughts 
had received some subject for deep cogitation. During the 
process of thinking, the weed was diligently rolled over his 
tongue, and one hand was stuck akimbo into his side, as if 
he would brace all his faculties to support some extraordi- 
nary mental effort. 

“ I wait your opinion,” resumed his attentive commander, 
when he thought sufficient time had been allowed to mature 
the opinion even of Richard Fid. 

“Will your honor just tell me what day of the month this 
here may be, and mayhap, at the same time, the day of 
the week too, if it should n’t be giving too much trouble ? ” 

His two questions were answered. 

“We had the wind at east- with-southing, the first day 
out, and then it chopped in the night, and blew great guns 
at northwest, where it held for the matter of a week. 
After which there was an Irishman’s hurricane, right up 
and down for a day ; then we got into these here trades, 
which have stood as steady as a ship’s chaplain over a punch- 
bowl, ever since.” 

Here the top-man closed his soliloquy, in order to agitate 
the tobacco again, it being impossible to conduct the process 
of chewing and talking at one and the same time. 

“ What of the stranger?” demanded the Rover, a little 
impatiently. 

“It’s no church, that’s certain, your honor,” said Fid, 
very decidedly. 

“ Has he signals flying? ” 

“He may be speaking with his flags, but it needs a 
better scholar than Richard Fid to know what he would say. 


Ube iReb iRovcv 


363 

To my eye, there are three new cloths in his main- top-gal- 
lant-royal, 1 but no bunting abroad.’ 1 

“The man is happy in having so good a sail. Mr. Wil- 
der, do you, too, see the cloths in question? ” 

“ There is certainly something which might be taken for 
new canvas. I believe I first mistook it, as the sun fell 
brightest on the sail, for the signals I named.” 

“Then we are not seen, and may lie quiet for awhile, 
though we enjoy the advantage of measuring the stranger, 
foot by foot — even to the new cloths in his royal ! ” 

The Rover spoke in a manner that was strangely divided 
between sarcasm and suspicion. He made an impatient ges- 
ture to the seamen to quit the poop. When they were alone, 
he turned to his silent and respectful officers, continuing, in 
a manner that was grave while it was conciliatory, — 

“ Gentlemen,” he said, “our idle time is past, and fortune 
has at length brought us active service. Whether the ship 
in sight be of just seven hundred and fifty tons is more than 
I can pretend to pronounce, but something there is which 
any seaman may know. By the squareness of her upper- 
yards, the symmetry with which they are trimmed, and the 
press of canvas she bears on the wind, I pronounce her to be 
a vessel of war. Do any differ from my opinion? Mr. Wil- 
der, speak.” 

“ I feel the truth of all your reasons, and think with 
you.” 

The shade of distrust, which had gathered over the brow 
of the Rover during the foregoing scene, lighted a little as 
he listened to the direct and frank avowal of his lieutenant. 

“You believe she bears a pennant? I like this manliness 
of reply. Then comes another question : Shall we fight 
her?” 

1 It has been objected to this term, that the sail is called the main- 
royal. The writer is old enough to remember when seamen always 
inserted the other word, when they wished to speak with a “ full 
mouth.” Main-sail, main-top-sail, main-top-gallant-sail, main-top- 
gallant-royal, were, and indeed are still, the proper appellations 
of these sails. “ Main-royal ” is beyond dispute, the familiar name 
now most in use. 


36 4 


XTbe IReb IRover 


To this interrogatory it was not easy to give a decisive 
answer. Bach officer consulted the opinions of his comrades 
in their eyes, until their leader saw fit to make his applica- 
tion still more personal. 

“ Now, general, this is a question peculiarly fitted for 
yoiir wisdom,” he resumed. “Shall we give battle to a 
pennant ? or shall we spread our wings and fly ? ” 

“ My bullies are not drilled to the retreat. Give them any 
other work to do, and I will answer for their steadiness. ’ ’ 

“ But shall we adventure, without a reason ? ” 

‘ ‘ The Spaniard often sends his bullion home under the 
cover of a cruiser’s guns,” observed one of the inferiors, who 
rarely found pleasure in any risk that did not infer its cor- 
respondent benefit. We may feel the stranger ; if he carries 
more than his guns, he will betray it by his reluctance 
to speak ; if poor, we shall find him fierce as a half- fed 
tiger.” 

‘ ‘ There is sense in your counsel, Brace, and it shall be 
regarded. Go then, gentlemen, to your several duties. 
We ’ll occupy the half-hour that must pass, before his hull 
shall rise, in looking to our gear, and overhauling the guns. 
As it is not decided to fight, let what is done be done with- 
out display. The people must see no receding from a reso- 
lution that is once taken.” 

They separated, each man preparing to undertake the 
task that more especially belonged to the situation he filled 
in the ship. Wilder was retiring with the rest, when a sign 
kept him on the poop alone with his new confederate. 

“The monotony of our lives is now likely to be inter- 
rupted, Mr. Wilder,” commenced the former, first glancing 
his eye around to make sure they were alone. “I have 
seen enough of your spirit and steadiness to be sure that, 
should accident disable me to conduct the fortunes of these 
people, my authority will fall into firm and able hands.” 

Should such a calamity befall us, I hope it will be found 
that your expectations are not to be deceived.” 

“ I have confidence, sir ; and, where a brave man reposes 
his confidence, he has a right to hope it will not be abused. 
Do I speak in reason ? ” 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


365 


“ I acknowledge the justice of what you say.” 

I would, Wilder, that we had known each other earlier. 
But what matter vain regrets? These fellows of yours are 
keen of sight to note those new cloths so soon ! * ’ 

“ ’T is just the observation of people of their class. The 
nicer distinctions which marked the cruiser came first from 
yourself. ’ ’ 

“And then the ‘seven hundred and fifty tons’ of the 
black. It was giving an opinion to a foot ! ” 

“ It is the quality of ignorance to be positive.” 

“Very true. Cast an eye at the stranger, and tell me 
how he comes on.” 

Wilder obeyed, glad to be relieved from a discourse that 
he found embarrassing. Many moments were passed before 
he dropped the glass, during which time not a syllable fell 
from the lips of his companion. When he turned, how- 
ever, to deliver the result of his observations, he met an 
eye that seemed to pierce his soul, fastened on his counte- 
nance. Coloring highly, as if he resented the suspicion 
betrayed by the act, Wilder closed his half-open lips, and 
continued silent. 

‘ ‘ And the ship ? ’ ’ deeply demanded the Rover. 

“ The ship has already raised her courses ; in a few more 
minutes we shall see the hull.” 

“ It is a swift vessel ! She is standing directly for us.” 

“I think not. Her head is lying more to the east- 
ward.” 

“ It may be well to make certain of that fact. You are 
right,” he continued, after taking a look himself at the 
approaching cloud of canvas; “you are very right. As 
yet we are not seen. Forward there ! haul down that head 
stay-sail ; we will steady the ship by her yards. Now let 
him look with all his eyes ; they must be good to see these 
naked spars at such a distance.” 

Our adventurer made no reply, assenting to the truth of 
what the other had said by a simple inclination of his head. 
They then resumed the walk to and fro in their narrow 
limits, neither manifesting, however, any disposition to 
renew the discourse. 


366 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


“ We are in good condition for the alternative of flight or 
combat, ’ ’ the Rover at length observed, while he cast a rapid 
look over the preparations which had been unostentatiously 
in progress from the moment when the officers dispersed. 
“ Now will I confess, Wilder, a secret pleasure in the belief 
that yonder audacious fool carries the boasted commission 
of the German who wears the crown of Britain. Should he 
prove more than man may dare attempt, I will flout him, 
though prudence shall check any further attempts ; and, 
should he prove an equal, would it not gladden your eyes 
to see St. George come drooping to the water ? ” 

“ I thought that men in our pursuit left honor to silly 
heads, and that we seldom struck a blow that was not 
intended to ring on a metal more precious than iron.” 

“ ’Tis the character the world gives us ; but I, for one 
would rather lower the pride of the minions of King 
George, than possess the power of unlocking his treasury ! 
Said I well, general?” he added, as the individual he 
named approached; “ said I well, in asserting there was 
glorious pleasure in making a pennant trail upon the 
sea? ” 

“We fight for victory,” returned the martinet. “I am 
ready to engage at a minute’s notice.” 

“ Prompt and decided as a soldier. Now tell me, gen- 
eral, if Fortune, or Chance, or Providence, whichever of 
the powers you may acknowledge for a leader, were to give 
you the option of enjoyments, in what would you find your 
deepest satisfaction ? ” 

The soldier seemed to ruminate. 

“ I have often thought that, were I commander of things 
on earth, I should, backed by a dozen of my stoutest bul- 
lies, charge at the door of that cave which was entered by 
the tailor’s boy, him they call Aladdin.” 

The genuine aspirations of a freebooter ! In such a 
case, the magic trees would soon be disburdened of their 
fruit. Still it might prove an inglorious victory, since in- 
cantations and charms are the weapons of the combatants. 
Call you honor nothing ? ’ ’ 

Hum ! I fought for honor half of a reasonably long 


Ube IReb IRover 


36 7 


life, and found myself as light at the close of all my dan- 
gers as at the beginning. Honor and I have shaken hands, 
unless it be the honor of coming off conqueror. I have a 
strong disgust of defeat, but am always ready to sell the 
mere honor of the victory cheap.” 

“Well, let it pass. The quality of the service is much 
the same, find the motive where you will. How now ! who 
has dared to let yonder top-gallant-sail fly ? ” 

The startling change in the voice of the Rover caused 
all within hearing of his words to tremble. Deep, anxious, 
and threatening displeasure was in its tones ; and each man 
cast his eyes upwards, to see on whose devoted head the 
weight of the dreaded indignation of their chief was likely 
to fall. As there was little but naked spars and tightened 
ropes to obstruct the view, all became at the same instant 
apprised of the truth. Fid was standing on the head of 
that top-mast which belonged to the particular portion of 
the vessel where he was stationed, and the sail in question 
was fluttering, with all its gear loosened, far and high in 
the wind. His hearing had probably been drowned by the 
heavy flapping of the canvas ; for, instead of lending his 
ears to the powerful call just mentioned, he rather stood 
contemplating his work, than exhibiting any anxiety as to 
the effect it might produce on the minds of those beneath 
him. But a second warning came in tones too terrible to 
be any longer disregarded by ears even as dull as those of 
the offender. 

“ By whose order have you dared to loosen the sail?” 
demanded the Rover. 

“By the order of King Wind, your honor. The best 
seaman must give in, when a squall gets the upper hand.” 

“ Furl it ! away aloft, and furl it ! ” shouted the excited 
leader. “ Roll it up ; and send the fellow down who has 
been so bold as to own any authority but my own in this 
ship, though it were that of a hurricane.” 

A dozen nimble top-men ascended to the assistance of 
Fid. In another minute the unruly canvas was secured, 
and Richard himself was on his way to the poop. During 
this brief interval, the brow of the Rover was dark and 


368 


Ghe IRefc IRover 


angry as the surface of the element on which he lived, 
when blackened by the tempest. Wilder, who had never 
before seen his new commander thus excited, began to 
tremble for the fate of his old comrade, and drew nigher as 
the latter approached, to intercede in his favor, should the 
circumstances seem to require such an interposition. 

“And why is this?” the still stern and angry captain 
demanded of the offender. ‘ ‘ Why is it that you, whom I 
have had such recent reason to applaud, should dare tc let 
fall a sail at a moment when it is important to keep the ship 
naked ? ” 

“Your honor will admit that his rations sometimes slips 
through the best man’s fingers, and why not a bit of can- 
vas? ” deliberately returned the delinquent. “ If I took a 
turn too many of the gasket off the yard, it is a fault I am 
ready to answer for. ,, 

“You say true, and dearly shall you pay the forfeit. 
Take him to the gangway, and let him make the acquaint- 
ance with the cat.” 

“No new acquaintance, your honor, seeing that we have 
met before, and that, too, for matters which I had reason to 
hide my head for ; whereas, here, it may be many blows, 
and little shame.” 

“ May I intercede in behalf of the offender ? ” interrupted 
Wilder, with earnestness and haste. ‘ ‘ He is often blunder- 
ing, but rarely would he err, had he as much knowledge as 
good-will.” 

“Say nothing about it, Master Harry,” returned the top- 
man, with a peculiar glance of his eye. “ The sail has 
been flying finely, and it is now too late to deny it ; and 
so, I suppose, the fact must be scored on the back of Rich- 
ard Fid, as you would put any other misfortune into the 
log.” 

“ I would he might be pardoned. I can venture to prom- 
ise in his name, it will be the last offence — ” 

“ Tet it be forgotten,” returned the Rover, struggling to 
conquer his passion. “I will not disturb our harmony at 
such a moment, Mr. Wilder, by refusing so small a boon ; 
but you need not be told to what evil such negligence might 


Ube iReb IRover 


369 


lead. Give me the glass again ; I will see if the fluttering 
canvas has escaped the e}^e of the stranger.” 

The top-man bestowed a stolen but exulting glance on 
Wilder, when the latter motioned the other hastily away, 

turning himself to join his commander in the examination. 

24 




CHAPTER XXVI. 

“ As I am an honest man, he looks pale. Art thou sick or angry ? ” 

Much Ado about Nothing. 

T HE approach of the strange sail was becoming 
rapidly more and more visible to the naked eye. 
The little speck of white, which had first been 
seen on the margin of the sea, resembling some 
gull floating on the summit of a wave, had gradually arisen 
during the last half-hour, until a tall pyramid of canvas was 
reared on the water. As Wilder bent his look again on this 
growing object, the Rover put a glass into his hands, with 
an expression which the other understood to say, “You 
may perceive that the carelessness of your dependant has 
betrayed us ? ” Still, the look was one rather of regret than 
of reproach ; nor did a single syllable of the tongue confirm 
the language of the eye. On the contrary, it would seem 
that his commander was anxious to preserve their recent 
amicable compact inviolate ; for, when the young mariner 
attempted an aw^kward explanation of the probable causes 
of the blunder of Fid, he was met by a quiet gesture, which 
said, in a sufficiently intelligible language, that the offence 
was pardoned. 

“Our neighbor keeps a good lookout, as you may see,” 
observed the other. “ He has tacked, and is laying boldly ' 
up across our fore-foot. Well, let him come on ; we shall I 
soon get a look at his battery, and then we may form our 
conclusion as to the nature of the intercourse we are to hold. * ’ 

‘ ‘ If you permit the stranger to near us, it may be difficult 
to throw him off the chase, should we be glad to get rid 
of him.” 


Ube IReb iRover 


371 


“ It must be a fast-going vessel, to which the Dolphin 
cannot spare a top-gallant-sail.” 

“ I know not, sir. The sail in sight is swift on the wind, 
and it is to be believed that she is no duller off. I have 
rarely known a vessel rise so rapidly as she has done since 
we first made her.” 

The youth spoke with such earnestness as to draw the 
attention of his companion from the object he was studying 
to the countenance of the speaker. 

“ Mr. Wilder,” he said, quickly, and with an air of decis- 
ion, “ you know the ship ! ” 

“I’ll not deny it. If my opinion be true, she will be 
found too heavy for the Dolphin, and a vessel that offers 
little inducement for us to attempt to carry.” 

“ Her size ? ” 

“You heard it from the%ack.” 

“ Your followers know her also ? ” 

“ It would be difficult to deceive a top-man in the cut and 
trim of sails, among which he has passed months — nay, 
years.” 

“ Ha ! I understand the ‘new cloths’ in her top-gallant- 
royal ! Mr. Wilder, your departure from that vessel has been 
recent ? ’ ’ 

“As my arrival in this.” 

The Rover continued silent for several minutes. His 
companion made no offer to disturb his meditations ; though 
the furtive glances he often cast in the direction of the other 
betrayed some little anxiety for the result of his own frank 
avowal. 

‘ ‘ And her guns ? ’ ’ his commander at length abruptly 
demanded. 

“ She numbers four more than the Dolphin.” 

“ The metal ? ” 

“ Is still heavier. In every particular she is a ship a size 
above your own.” 

“ Doubtless she is the property of the king? ” 

“She is.” 

“ She shall change masters. By Heaven, she shall be 
mine ! ” 


372 


Ube IRefc IRover 


Wilder shook his head, answering only with an incredulous 
smile. 

“You doubt it. Come hither, and look upon that deck. 
Can he, whom you so lately quitted, muster fellows like 
these?” 

The crew of the Dolphin had been chosen, by one who 
thoroughly understood the character of a seaman, from 
among all the different people of the Christian world. There 
was not a maritime nation in Europe which had not its rep- 
resentative among that band of turbulent and desperate spir- 
its. Even the descendant of the aboriginal possessors of 
America had been made to abandon the habits and opinions 
of his progenitors, to become a wanderer on that element 
which had laved the shores of his native land for ages, with- 
out exciting a wish to penetrate its mysteries in the bosoms 
of his simple-minded ancestry. All had been fitted, by 
lives of wild adventure on the two elements, for their present 
lawless pursuits ; and, directed by the mind which had 
known how to obtain and to continue its despotic ascen- 
dency over their efforts, they truly formed a most dangerous 
and (considering their numbers) a resistless crew. Their 
commander smiled in exultation, as he watched the evident 
reflection with which his companion contemplated the in- 
difference, or fierce joy, which different individuals among 
them exhibited at the appearance of an approaching conflict. 
Even the rawest of their numbers, the luckless waisters and 
after-guard, were as confident of victory as those whose 
audacity might plead the apology of uniform and often 
repeated success. 

‘ ‘ Count you these for nothing ? ’ ’ asked the Rover, at the 
elbow of his lieutenant, after allowing him time to embrace 
the whole of the grim band with his eye. “ See ! ” here is a 
Dane ; ponderous and steady as the gun at which I shall 
shortly place him. You may cut him limb from limb, and yet 
he will stand like a tower, until the last stone of the founda- 
tion has been sapped. And here we have his neighbors, the 
Swede and the Russ, fit companions for managing the same 
piece ; which, I ’ll answer, shall not be silent, while a man 
of them all is left to apply a match, or handle a sponge. 


tlbe iReb iRover 


373 


Yonder is a square-built, athletic mariner, from one of the 
free towns. He prefers our liberty to that of his native city, 
and you shall find that the venerable Hanseatic institutions 
shall give way sooner than he be known to quit the spot I 
give him to defend. Here you see a brace of Englishmen ; 
and, though they come from the island that I love so little, 
better men at need will not be often found. Feed them and 
flog them, and I pledge myself to their swaggering and their 
courage. D’ ye see that thoughtful-looking, bony miscreant, 
that has a look of godliness in the midst of his villainy? 
That fellow fished for herring till he got a taste of beef, 
when his stomach revolted at its ancient fare ; and then the 
ambition of becoming rich got uppermost. He is a Scot, 
from one of the lochs of the North.” 

“Will he fight?” 

“For money — the honor of the Macs — and his religion. 
He is a reasoning fellow, after all ; and I like to have him 
on my own side in a quarrel. Ah ! yonder is the boy for 
a charge. I once told him to cut a rope in a hurry, and he 
severed it above his head instead of beneath his feet, taking 
a flight from a lower yard into the sea, as a reward for the 
exploit. But, then, he always extols his presence of mind 
in not drowning ! Now are his ideas in a hot ferment ; and, 
if the truth could be known, I would wager a handsome 
venture that the sail in sight is, by some mysterious process, 
magnified to six in his fertile fancy.” 

“ He must be thinking, then, of escape ? ” 

“ Far from it ; he is rather plotting the means of sur- 
rounding them with the Dolphin. To your true Hibernian, 
escape is the last idea that gives him an uneasy moment. 
You see that pensive-looking, sallow mortal, at his elbow. 
That is a man who will fight with a sort of sentiment. There 
is a touch of chivalry in him, which might be worked into 
heroism, if one had but the opportunity and the inclination. 
As it is, he will not fail to show a spark of the true Castilian. 
His companion has come from the Rock of Lisbon ; I should 
trust him unwillingly, did I not know that little opportunity 
of taking pay from the enemy is given here. Ah ! here is a 
lad for a dance of a Sunday. You see him at this moment, 


374 


Zhc IReb IRover 


with foot and tongue going together. That is a creature of 
contradictions. He wants for neither wit nor good-nature, 
but still he might cut your throat on an occasion. There is 
a strange medley of ferocity and bonhommie about the ani- 
mal. I shall put him among the boarders ; for we shall not 
be at blows a minute before his impatience will be for carry- 
ing everything by a coup -de-main." 

“And who is the seaman at his elbow, that apparently is 
occupied in divesting his person of some superfluous gar- 
ments ?” demanded Wilder, irresistibly attracted by the 
manner of the Rover to pursue the subject. 

“An economical Dutchman. He calculates that it is just 
as wise to be killed in an old jacket as in a new one, and 
has probably said as much to his Gascon neighbor, who is, 
however, resolved to die decently, if die he must. The former 
has happily commenced his preparations for the combat in 
good season, or the enemy might defeat us before he would 
be in readiness. Did it rest between these two worthies to 
decide this quarrel, the mercurial Frenchman would defeat 
his neighbor of Holland before the latter believed the battle 
had commenced ; but should he let the happy moment pass, 
rely on it, the Dutchman would give him trouble. Forget 
you, Wilder, that the day has been when the countrymen of 
that slow-moving and heavy-moulded fellow swept the nar- 
row seas with a broom at their mast-heads? ” 

The Rover smiled wildly as he spoke, and what he said he 
uttered bitterly. To his companion, however, there appeared 
no such grounds of unnatural exultation in recalling the 
success of a foreign enemy, and he was content to assent to 
the truth of the historical fact with a simple inclination of 
his head. As if he even found pain in this tacit confession, 
and would gladly be rid of the mortifying reflection alto- 
gether, he rejoined, in some apparent haste, — 

“You have overlooked the two tall seamen, who are mak- 
ing out the rig of the stranger with so much gravity of 
observation.” 

“ Ay, those are men that came from a land in which we 
both feel some interest. The sea is not more unstable than 
are those rogues in their knavery. Their minds are but 


Ube IReb iRover 


375 


half made up to piracy. ’Tis but a coarse word, Mr. 
Wilder, but I fear we earn it. But these rascals make a 
reservation of grace in the midst of all their villainy.” 

“They regard the stranger as if they saw reason to dis- 
trust the wisdom of letting him approach so near.” 

‘ ‘ Ah ! they are renowned calculators. I fear they have 
detected the four supernumerary guns you mentioned ; for 
their vision seems supernatural in affairs which touch their 
interests. But you see there is brawn and sinew in the 
fellows ; and, what is better, there are heads which teach 
them to turn those advantages to account.” 

“You think they fail in spirit ? ” 

‘ ‘ Hum ! It might be dangerous to try it on any point 
they deem material. They are no quarrellers about words, 
and seldom lose sight of certain musty maxims, which they 
pretend come from a volume that I fear you and I do not 
study too intently. It is not often that they strike a blow 
for mere chivalry ; and, were they so inclined, the rogues 
are too much disposed to logic, to mistake, like your black, 
the Dolphin for a church. Still, if they see reason, in their 
puissant judgments, to engage, mark me, the two guns they 
command will do better service than all the rest of the 
battery. Should they think otherwise, it would occasion 
no surprise were I to receive a proposition to spare the 
powder for some more profitable adventure. Honor, for- 
sooth ! the miscreants are too well practised in polemics to 
mistake the point of honor in a pursuit like ours. But we 
chatter of trifles, when it is time to think of serious things. 
Mr. Wilder, we will now show our canvas.” 

The manner of the Rover changed as suddenly as his 
language. Dosing the air of sarcastic levity in which he 
had been indulging, in a mien better suited to maintain the 
authority he wielded, he walked aside, while his subordinate 
proceeded to issue the orders necessary to enforce his com- 
mands. Nightingale sounded the usual summons, lifting his 
hoarse voice in the cry of “All hands make sail, ahoy ! ” 

Until now, the people of the Dolphin had made their 
observations on the sail that was growing so rapidly above 
the waters, according to their several humors. Some had 


376 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


exulted in the prospect of a capture ; others, more practised 
in the ways of their commander, had deemed the probability 
of their coming in collision at all with the stranger a point 
far from settled ; while a few, more accustomed to reflec- 
tion, shook their heads as the stranger drew nigher, as if 
they believed he was already within a distance that might 
be attended with too much hazard. Still, as they were 
ignorant alike of those secret sources of information which 
the chief had so frequently proved he possessed, to an ex- 
tent that often seemed miraculous, the whole were content 
patiently to await his decision. But, when the cry above- 
mentioned was heard, it was answered by an activity so 
general and so cheerful, as to prove it was entirely welcome. 
Order now followed order from the mouth of Wilder, in 
quick succession, he being, in virtue of his station, the 
proper executive officer for the moment. 

As both lieutenant and crew appeared animated by the 
same spirit, it was not long before the naked spars of the 
Dolphin were clothed in vast volumes of snow-white can- 
vas. Sail had fallen after sail, and yard after yard had 
been raised to the summit of its mast, until the vessel 
bowed before the breeze, rolling to and fro, but still held 
stationary by the position of her yards. When all was in 
readiness to proceed, on whichever course might be deemed 
necessary, Wilder ascended again to the poop, in order to 
announce the fact to his superior. He found the Rover ; 
attentively considering the stranger, whose hull had by this 
time risen out of the sea, exhibiting a long, dotted, yellow 
line, which the eye of every man in the ship well knew to 
contain the ports where the guns that marked her particular I 
force were to be sought. Mrs. Wyllys, accompanied by 
Gertrude, stood nigh, thoughtful, as usual, but permitting no 
occurrence of the slightest moment to escape her vigilance. 

“ We are ready to gather way on the ship,” said Wilder ; 1 
“we wait merely for the course.” 

The Rover started, and drew closer to his subordinate, 
looking him full and intently in the eye, he said, — 

“You are certain that you know that vessel, Mr. 
Wilder?” 


TIbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


377 


“ Certain.” 

“It is a royal cruiser,” said the governess with the swift- 
ness of thought. 

“ It is. I have already pronounced her to be so.” 

“Mr. Wilder,” resumed the Rover, “we will try her 
speed. L,et the courses fall, and fill your forward sails.” 

The young mariner made an acknowledgment of obedi- 
ence, and proceeded with alacrity to execute the wishes of 
his commander. There was an eagerness, and perhaps a 
trepidation, in the voice of Wilder, as he issued the nec- 
essary orders, that was in remarkable contrast to the deep- 
toned calmness which characterized the utterance of the 
Rover. The unusual intonations did not entirely escape 
the ears of some of the elder seamen ; and looks of peculiar 
meaning were exchanged among them, as they paused to 
catch his words. But obedience followed these unwonted 
sounds, as it had been accustomed to succeed the more 
imposing utterance of their own long-dreaded chief. The 
head-yards were swung, the sails were distended with the 
breeze, and the mass, which had so long been inert, began 
to divide the waters, as it heavily overcame the state of 
rest in which it had reposed. The ship soon attained its 
velocity; and then the contest between the two rival 
vessels became of engrossing interest. 

By this time the stranger was within a half league, 
directly under the lee of the Dolphin. Closer and more 
accurate observation had satisfied every eye in the latter 
ship of the force and character of their neighbor. The 
rays of a bright sun fell clear upon her broadside, while the 
shadow of her sails was thrown across the waters in a 
direction opposite to their own. There were moments 
when the eye, aided by the glass, could penetrate through 
the open ports into the interior of the hull, catching fleeting 
and delusory glimpses of the movements within. A few 
human forms were distinctly visible in different parts of her 
rigging ; but, in all other respects, the repose of high order 
and perfect discipline was discernible in all about her. 

When the Rover heard the sounds of the parted waters, 
and saw the little jets of spray that the bows of his own gal- 


37 ^ 


Ube IReb IRover 


laut ship cast before her, he signed to his lieutenant to ascend 
to the place which he still occupied on the poop. For many 
minutes his eye was on the strange sail, in close and intelli- 
gent contemplation of her powers. 

“ Mr. Wilder,” he at length said, speaking like one whose 
doubts on some perplexing point were finallj'' removed, ‘ ‘ I 
have seen that cruiser before.” 

“ It is probable ; she has roamed over most of the waters 
of the Atlantic.” 

‘ ‘ Ay, this is not the first of our meetings ! A little paint 
has changed her exterior, but I think I know the manner in 
which they have stepped her masts.” 

“They are thought to rake more than is usual.” 

“ They are thought to do it with reason. Did you serve 
long aboard her ? ” 

“Years.” 

“ And you left her — ” 

“To join you.” 

“Tell me, Wilder, did they treat you, too, as one of an 
inferior order ? Ha ! was your merit called ‘ provincial ’ ? 
Did they read America in all you did? ” 

“ I left her, Captain Heidegger.” 

“ Ay, they gave you reason. For once they have done 
me an act of kindness. But you were in her during the 
equinox of March ? ’ ’ 

Wilder made a slight bow of assent. 

“ I thought as much. And you fought a stranger in the 
gale? Winds, ocean, and man, were all at work together.” 

“ It is true. We knew you, and thought for a time that 
your hour had come. ’ ’ 

“ I like your frankness. We have sought each other’s 
lives like men, and we shall prove the truer friends, now that 
amity is established between us. I will not ask you further 
of that adventure, Wilder ; for favor in my service is not to 
be bought by treachery to that you have quitted. It is suf- 
ficient that you now sail under my flag.” 

“ What is that flag ? ” demanded a mild, firm voice at his 
elbow. 

The Rover turned suddenly, and met the riveted, calm, 


Ube iReb lRov>er 


379 


and searching eye of the governess. The gleamings of 
some strangely contradictory passions crossed his features, 
and then his countenance changed to that look of bland 
courtesy which he most affected when addressing his cap- 
tives. 

“ Here is a female reminding two old mariners of their 
duty ! ” he exclaimed. “ We have forgotten the civility 
of showing the stranger our bunting. L,et it be set, Mr. 
Wilder, that we omit none of the observances of nautical 
etiquette. ’ ’ 

“ The ship in sight carries a naked gaff.” 

“ No matter ; we shall be foremost in courtesy. Tet the 
colors be shown.” 

Wilder opened the little locker which contained the flags 
most in use, but hesitated which to select, out of a dozen 
that lay in large rolls within the different compartments. 

‘ * I hardly know which of these ensigns it is your pleasure 
to show,” he said, in a manner that appeared sufficiently like 
putting a question. 

“ Try him with the heavy-moulded Dutchman. The com- 
mander of so noble a ship should understand all Christian 
tongues.” 

The lieutenant made a sign to the quarter-master on duty ; 
and, in another minute, the flag of the United Provinces was 
waving at the peak of the Dolphin. The two officers nar- 
rowly watched its effect on the stranger, who refused, how- 
ever, to make any answering sign to the false signal they 
had just exhibited. 

‘ ‘ The stranger sees we have a hull that was never made 
for the shoals of Holland. Perhaps he knows us?” said 
the Rover, glancing at the same time a look of inquiry at 
his companion. 

‘ ‘ I think not. Paint is too freely used in the Dolphin for 
even her friends to be certain of her countenance.” 

1 ‘ She is a coquettish ship, we will allow. Try him with 
the Portuguese ; let us see if Brazil diamonds have favor in 
his eyes.” 

The colors already set were lowered, and, in their place 
the emblem of the house of Braganza was loosened to the 


3 8 ° 


Ube IRefc [Rover 


breeze. Still the stranger pursued his course in sullen in- 
attention, eating closer and closer into the wind, as it is 
termed in nautical language, in order to lessen the distance 
between him and his chase as much as possible. 

“ An ally cannot move him,” said the Rover. “ Now let 
him see the taunting drapeau blanc. ’ ’ 

Wilder complied in silence. The flag of Portugal was hauled 
to the deck, and the white field of France was given to the 
air. The ensign had hardly fluttered in its elevated position, 
before a broad, glossy blazonry rose, like some enormous 
bird taking wing, from the deck of the stranger, and opened 
its folds in graceful waves at his gaff. The same instant, a 
column of smoke issued from his bows, and had sailed back- 
ward through his rigging, ere the report of the gun of de- 
fiance found its way, against the fresh breeze of the trades, 
to the ears of the Dolphin’s crew. 

“So much for national amity!” dryly observed the 
Rover. “ He is mute to the Dutchman, and to the crown 
of Braganza ; but the very bile is stirred within him at the 
sight of a table-cloth ! Tet him contemplate the colors he 
loves so little, Mr. Wilder ; when we are tired of showing 
them, our lockers will furnish another.” 

It would seem, however, that the sight of the flag which 
the Rover now chose to bear produced some such effect on 
his neighbor as the moleta of the nimble banderillo is known 
to excite in the enraged bull. Sundry smaller sails, which 
could do but little good, but which answered the purpose of 
appearing to wish to quicken his speed, were instantly set 
aboard the stranger ; and not a brace, or a bowline, was suf- 
fered to escape without an additional pull. In short, he 
wore the air of the courser who receives the useless blows of 
the jockey when already at the top of his speed, and when 
any further excitement is as fruitless as his own additional 
exertions. Still there seemed but little use in these efforts. 
By this time, the two vessels were fairly trying their powers 
of sailing, and with no visible advantage in favor of either. 
Although the Dolphin was renowned for her speed, the 
stranger manifested no inferiority that the keenest scrutiny 
might detect. The ship of the freebooter was already bend- 


Ube IReb IRover 


381 


ing to the breeze, and the jets of spray before her were cast 
still higher and farther in advance ; but each impulse of the 
wind was equally felt by the stranger, and her movement 
over the heaving waters seemed to be as rapid and as grace- 
ful as that of her rival. 

“ Yonder ship parts the water as a swallow cuts the air,” 
observed the chief of the freebooters to the youth, who still 
kept at his elbow, endeavoring to conceal an uneasiness 
which was increasing at each instant. “ Has she a name 
for speed ? ” 

“ The curlew is scarcely faster. Are we not already nigh 
enough, for men who cruise with commissions no better than 
our own pleasure ? ’ * 

The Rover glanced a look of impatient suspicion at the 
countenance of his companion ; but its expression changed 
to a smile of haughty audacity, as he answered, — 

‘ ‘ L,et him equal the eagle in his highest and swiftest flight, 
he shall find us no laggards on the wing ! Why this reluc- 
tance to be within a mile of a vessel of the crown ? ’ ’ 

“ Because I know her force, and the hopeless character of 
a contest with an enemy so superior,” returned Wilder, 
firmly. “ Captain Heidegger, you cannot fight yonder ship 
with success ; and, unless instant use be made of the dis- 
tance which still exists between us, you cannot escape her. 
Indeed, I know not but it is already too late to attempt the 
latter.” 

“ Such, sir, is the opinion of one who overrates the powers 
of his enemy, because use, and much talking have taught him 
to reverence it as something more than human. Mr. Wilder, 
none are so daring, or so modest, as those who have long 
been accustomed to place their dependence on their own 
exertions. I have been nigher to a flag even, and yet you 
see I continue to keep on this mortal coil.” 

“ Hark ! ’Tis a drum. The stranger is going to his 

guns.” 

The Rover listened a moment, and was able to catch the 
well-known beat which calls the people of a vessel of war to 
their quarters. First casting a glance upward at his sails 
and then throwing a general and critical look on all and 


382 


Uhc IRefc IRoper 


everything which came within the influence of his command, 
he calmly answered, — 

“We will imitate his example, Mr. Wilder. L,et the 
order be given.” 

Until now, the crew of the Dolphin had either been 
occupied in such necessary duties as precede an action, or 
were gazing at the strange ship. The low but continued 
hum of voices, sounds such as discipline permitted, had 
afforded the only evidence of the interest they took in the 
scene ; but the instant the first tap on the drum was heard, 
each group severed, and every man repaired, with bustling 
activity, to his well-known station. The stir among the 
crew was but of a moment’s continuance ; it was succeeded 
by the breathing stillness which has already been noticed 
in our pages on a similar occasion. The officers, however, 
were seen making hasty, but strict, inquiries into the condi- 
tions of their several commands ; while the munitions of 
war, that were drawn from their places of deposit, 
announced a preparation more serious than ordinary. The 
Rover himself had disappeared ; but it was not long before 
he was again seen at his elevated lookout, accoutred for the 
conflict that appeared to approach, and employed, as ever, 
in studying the properties, the force, and the evolutions of 
his advancing antagonist. Those who knew him best, how- 
ever, said that the question of combat was not yet decided 
in his mind ; and many eager glances were thrown in the 
direction of his eye, as if to penetrate the mystery in which 
he chose to conceal his purpose. He had thrown aside the 
sea-cap, and stood with his fair hair blowing about a brow 
that seemed formed to give birth to thoughts far nobler 
than those which apparently had occupied his life ; while a 
species of leathern helmet lay at his feet, the garniture of 
which was of a nature to lend an unnatural fierceness to the 
countenance of its wearer. Whenever this boarding-cap 
was worn, all in the ship were given to understand that the 
moment of serious strife was at hand ; but, as yet, that 
never-failing evidence of the hostile intention of their leader 
was unnoticed. 

In the meantime, each officer Jiad examined into and 


Uhc IReb IRover 


383 


reported the state of his division ; and then, by a sort of 
implied permission on the part of their superiors, the death- 
like calm, which had hitherto reigned among the people, 
was allowed to be broken by suppressed but earnest discourse ; 
the calculating chief permitting this departure from the 
usual rules of more regular cruisers, in order to come at the 
temper of the crew, on which so much of the success of his 
desperate enterprises so frequently depended. 




CHAPTER XXVII. 


“ For he made me mad, 

To see him shine so brisk, and smell so sweet, 

And talk so like a waiting gentlewoman.” 

King Henry IV. 

T HE moment was one of high and earnest excitement. 

Each individual charged with a portion of the 
subordinate authority of the ship had examined 
into the state of his command, w T ith the care which 
always deepens as responsibility draws nigher to the proofs 
of having been worthily bestowed. The voice of the harsh 
master had ceased to inquire into the state of those several 
ropes and chains that were deemed vital to the safety of the 
vessel ; each chief of a battery had assured and reassured 
himself that his artillery was ready for the most effective 
service ; extra ammunition had already issued from its dark 
and secret repository ; and even the hum of dialogue had 
ceased in the all-absorbing interest of the scene. Still the 
quick and ever-changing glance of the Rover could detect 
no reason to distrust the firmness of his people. They were 
grave, as are ever the bravest and steadiest in the hour of 
trial ; but their gravity was mingled with no signs of con- 
cern. It seemed rather like the effect of desperate and con- 
centrated resolution, such as braces the human mind to 
efforts which exceed the ordinary daring of martial enter- 
prise. To this satisfactory exhibition of the humor of his 
crew, the wary and sagacious leader saw but three excep- 
tions ; they were found in the persons of his lieutenant and 
his two remarkable associates. 

It has been seen that the bearing of Wilder was not alto- 
384 



ZTbe IReb 1Ro\>et 


3S5 


getlier such as became one of his rank in a moment of great 
trial. The keen, jealous glances of the Rover studied and 
restudied his manner, without arriving at any conclusion as 
to its cause. The color was as fresh on the cheeks of the 
youth, and his limbs were as firm, as in the hours of entire 
security ; but the unsettled wandering of his eye, and an air 
of doubt and indecision which pervaded a mien that ought 
to display qualities so opposite, gave his commander con- 
cern. As if to find an explanation of the enigma in the 
deportment of the associates of Wilder, his look turned to 
the person of Fid and the negro. They were both stationed 
at the piece nearest to the place he himself occupied, the 
former filling the station of captain of the gun. 

The ribs of the ship itself were not firmer in their places 
than was the attitude of the top-man, as he occasionally 
squinted along the massive iron tube over which he was 
placed in command ; nor was that familiar and paternal care, 
which distinguishes the seaman’s interest in his particular 
trust, wanting in his manner. Still, an air of broad and 
inexplicable surprise had possession of his rugged linea- 
ments ; and as his look wandered from the countenance of 
Wilder to their adversary, it was not difficult to discover 
that he marvelled to find the two in opposition. He neither 
commented on, nor complained, however, of an occurrence 
he evidently found so extraordinary, but appeared perfectly 
disposed to pursue the spirit of that well-known maxim 
of the mariner, which teaches the obedient tar ‘ ‘ to obey 
orders though he break owners.” Every portion of the 
athletic form of the negro was motionless, except his eyes. 
These large, jet-black orbs, however, rolled incessantly, like 
the more dogmatic organs of the top-man, from Wilder to 
the strange sail, seeming to drink in fresh draughts of aston- 
ishment at each new look. 

Struck by these evident manifestations of some extraor- 
dinary and yet common sentiment between the two, the 
Rover profited by his own position, and the distance of the 
lieutenant, to address them. Eeaning over the slight rail 
that separated the break of the poop from the quarter-deck, 
he said in that familiar manner which the commander is 


38 6 


XTbe IReb IRover 


most wont to use to his inferiors when their services are 
becoming of the greatest importance, — 

“ I hope, Master Fid, they have put you at a gun to your 
liking ? ’ ’ 

“There is not a smoother bore, nor a wider mouth, in 
the ship, your honor, than these of ‘Blazing Billy,’ ” re- 
turned the top-man, giving the subject of his commendations 
an affectionate slap. ‘ ‘ All I ask is a clean sponge and a 
tight wad. Guinea, score a foul anchor, in your own fash- 
ion, on a half-dozen of the shot ; and, after the matter is 
over, they who live through it may go aboard the enemy, 
and see in what manner Richard Fid has planted his seed.” 

“ You are not new in action, Master Fid ? ” 

“ Ford bless your honor ! gunpowder is no more than dry 
tobacco in my nostrils ! tho’f I will say — ” 

“You were going to add — ” 

“That sometimes I find myself shifted over, in these 
here affairs,” returned the top-man, glancing his eye first at 
the flag of France, and then at the distant emblem of Eng- 
land, “ like a jib-boom rigged abaft, for a jury to the spanker. 
I suppose Master Harry has it all in his pocket, in black 
and white ; but this much I will say, that if I must throw 
stones, I should rather see them break a neighbor’s crock- 
ery, than that of my own mother. I say, Guinea, score a 
couple more of the shot ; since, if the play is to be acted, 
I ’ve a mind the ‘ Blazing Billy ’ should do something credit- 
able for the honor of her good name.” 

The Rover drew back, thoughtful and silent. He caught 
a look from Wilder, whom he again beckoned to approach. 

“ Mr. Wilder,” he said in a tone of kindness, “ I compre- 
hend your feelings. All have not offended alike in yonder 
vessel, and you would rather your service against that 
haughty flag should commence with some other ship. 
There is little else but empty honor to be gained in the 
conflict — in tenderness to your feelings, I will avoid it.” 

“ It is too late,” said Wilder, with a melancholy shake of 
the head. 

“You shall see your error. The experiment may cost us 
a broadside, but it shall succeed. Go, descend with our 


Ube IRefc 1Rov>er 


337 

guests to a place of safety : by the time you return, the 
scene will have undergone a change. ’ ’ 

Wilder eagerly disappeared in the cabin, whither Mrs. 
Wyllys had already withdrawn ; and, after communicating 
the intentions of his commander to avoid an action, he con- 
ducted them into the depths of the vessel, in order that no 
casualty might arrive to embitter his recollections of the 
hour. This grateful duty promptly and solicitously per- 
formed, our adventurer again sought the deck with the 
velocity of thought. 

Notwithstanding his absence had seemed but a moment, 
the scene had indeed changed in all its hostile images. In 
place of the flag of France, he found the ensign of Eng- 
land floating at the peak of the Dolphin, and a quick and 
intelligible exchange of signals in active operation between 
the two vessels. Of all that cloud of canvas which had so 
lately borne down the vessel of the Rover, her top-sails 
alone remained distended to the yards ; the remainder was 
hanging in festoons, and fluttering loosely before a favora- 
ble breeze. The ship itself was running directly for the 
stranger, who, in turn, was sullenly securing his lofty sails, 
like one who was disappointed in a high prized and ex- 
pected object. 

“ Now is yon fellow sorry to believe him a friend whom 
he had lately supposed an enemy,” said the Rover, directing 
the attention of his lieutenant to the confiding manner with 
which their neighbor suffered himself to be deceived by his 
surreptitiously obtained signals. “It is a tempting offer ; 
but I pass it, Wilder, for your sake.” 

The gaze of the lieutenant seemed bewildered, but he 
made no reply. Indeed, little time was given for delibera- 
tion 'or discourse. The Dolphin rolled swiftly along her 
briny path, and each moment dissipated the mist in which 
distance had enveloped the lesser objects on board the stran- 
ger. Guns, blocks, ropes, bolts, men, and even features be- 
came visible, in rapid succession, as the water that divided 
them was parted by the bows of the lawless ship. In a few 
minutes the stranger, having secured most of his lighter can- 
vas, came sweeping up to the wihfl ; and then, as his after- 

*5 


3 88 


XTbe IReD 1 Rover 


sails, squared for the purpose, took the breeze on their outer 
surface, the mass of his hull became stationary. 

The people of the Dolphin had so far imitated the confid- 
ing credulity of the deceived cruiser of the crown, as to furl 
all their lofty duck, each man employed in the service trust- 
ing implicitly to the discretion and daring of the singular 
being whose pleasure it was to bring their ship into so haz- 
ardous a proximity to a powerful enemy — qualities that 
had been known to avail them in circumstances of even 
greater delicacy than those in which they were now placed. 
With this air of audacious confidence, the dreaded Rover 
came gliding down upon her unsuspecting neighbor, until 
within a few hundred feet of her weather-beam, when she, 
too, with a graceful curve in her course, bore up against the 
breeze and came to a state of rest. But Wilder, who 
regarded all the movements of his superior in silent amaze- 
ment, was not slow in observing that the head of the Dol- 
phin was laid a different way from that of the other, and 
that her progress had been arrested by the counteracting 
position of her head-yards, a circumstance that afforded the 
advantage of a quicker command of the ship, should there 
be need to require a sudden recourse to the guns. 

The Dolphin was still drifting slowly under the influence 
of her recent motion, when the customary hoarse and nearly 
unintelligible summons came over the water, demanding her 
appellation and character. The Rover applied his trumpet 
to his lips, with a glance directed towards his lieutenant, 
and returned the name of a ship in the service of the king, 
that was known to be of the size and force of his own vessel. 

“Ay, ay,” returned a voice from the other ship, “ ’t was 
so I made out your signals. ’ ’ 

The hail was then reciprocated, and the name of the 
royal cruiser given in return, followed by an invitation from 
her commander to visit his superior. 

Thus far, no more had occurred than was usual between 
seamen in the same service ; but the affair was rapidly arriv- 
ing at a point that most men would have found too embar- 
rassing for further deception. Still, the observant eye of 
Wilder detected no hesitation or doubt in the manner of his 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


3^9 


chief. The beat of the drum was heard from the cruiser, 
announcing the ‘ ‘ retreat from quarters ’ ’ ; and, with perfect 
composure, he directed the same signal to be given for his 
own people to retire from their guns. In short, five min- 
utes established every appearance of entire confidence and 
amity between two vessels which would have soon been at 
deadly strife, had the true character of one been known to 
the other. In this state of the doubtful game he played, 
and with the invitation still ringing in the ears of Wilder, 
the Rover motioned his lieutenant to his side. 

“You hear that I am desired to visit my senior in the 
service of his majesty,” he said, smiling ironically. “ Is it 
your pleasure to be of the party ? ’ ’ 

The start with which Wilder received this hardy propo- 
sal was far too natural to proceed from any counterfeited 
emotion. 

“ You are not so mad as to run the risk ! ” he exclaimed, 
when words were at command. 

“ If you fear for yourself, I can go alone.” 

“Fear!” echoed the youth, a bright flush giving an 
additional glow to the flashing of his kindling eyes. “ It is 
not fear, Captain Heidegger, but prudence, that tells me to 
keep concealed. My presence would betray the character 
of this ship. You forget that I am known to all in yonder 
cruiser.” 

“ I had indeed forgotten that portion of the plot. Then 
remain while I go to play upon the credulity of his maj- 
esty’s captain.” 

Without waiting for an answer, the Rover led the way 
below, signing for his companion to follow. A few mo- 
ments sufficed to arrange the fair golden locks that imparted 
such a look of youth and vivacity to the countenance of the 
former. The undress, fanciful frock he wore in common, 
was exchanged for the attire of one of his assumed rank 
and service, which had been made to fit his person with the 
nicest care, and with a coxcombical attention to the propor- 
tions of his really fine person ; and in all other things was 
he speedily equipped for the disguise he chose to affect. 
No sooner were these alterations completed (and they were 


39 ° 


Ube IReb iRovet 


effected with a brevity and readiness that manifested much 
practice in similar artifices), than he disposed himself to 
proceed on the intended experiment. 

‘ ‘ Truer and quicker eyes have been deceived, ’ ’ he coolly 
observed, turning his glance from a mirror to the counte- 
nance of his lieutenant, ‘ ‘ than those which embellish the 
rugged countenance of Captain Bignall. ’ * 

“ You know him, then ? ” 

“ Mr. Wilder, my business imposes the necessity of know- 
ing much that other men overlook. Now is this adventure, 
which, by your features, I perceive you deem so forlorn in 
its hopes of success, one of easy achievement. I am con- 
vinced that not an officer or man on board the Dart has 
ever seen the ship whose name I have chosen to usurp. 
She is too fresh from the stocks to incur that risk. Then 
there is little probability that I, in my other self, shall be 
compelled to acknowledge acquaintance with any of her 
officers ; for you well know that years have passed since 
your late ship has been in Europe ; and, by running your 
eye over these books, you will perceive, I am that favored 
mortal, the son of a lord, and have not only grown into 
command, but into manhood, since her departure from 
home.” 

‘ ‘ These are certainly favoring circumstances, and such as 
I had not the sagacity to detect. But why incur the risk 
at all ? ” 

‘ ‘ Why ? Perhaps there is a deep-laid scheme to learn if 
the prize would repay the loss of her capture — perhaps it 
is only my humor. There is fearful excitement in the ad- 
venture ! ’ 5 

“ And there is fearful danger.” 

“I never count the price of these enjoyments, Wilder,” 
he added, turning to him with a look of frank and cour- 
teous confidence. “ I place life and honor in your keep- 
ing ; for to me it would be dishonor to desert the interests 
of my crew.” 

“ The trust shall be respected,” repeated our adventurer, 
in a tone so deep and choked as to be nearly unintelligible. 

Regarding the countenance of his companion intently for 


XTbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


391 


an instant, the Rover smiled, as if he approved of the pledge, 
waved his hand in adieu, and turning, was about to leave 
the cabin ; but a third form, at that moment, caught his 
wandering glance, paying a hand lightly on the shoulder 
of the boy, whose form was placed somewhat obtrusively in 
his way, he demanded, a little sternly, — 

“ Roderick, what means this preparation ? ” 

“ To follow my master to the boat.” 

“ Boy, thy service is not needed.” 

“ It is rarely wanted of late.” 

‘ * Why should I add unnecessarily to the risk of lives, 
when no good can attend the hazard ? ’ ’ 

“ In risking your own, you risk all to me.” 

The answer was given in a tone so resigned, and yet so 
faltering, that the tremulous and nearly smothered sounds 
caught no ears but those for whom they were intended. 

The Rover for a time replied not. His hand still kept its 
place on the shoulder of the boy, whose working features he 
read, as the eye is sometimes wont to penetrate the mysteries 
of the heart. 

“ Roderick,” he said, in a milder and kinder voice, “ your 
lot shall be mine : we will go together.” 

Dashing his hand hastily across his brow, the wayward 
chief ascended the ladder, attended by the lad, and followed 
by the individual in whose faith he reposed so great a trust. 
The step with which the Rover trod the deck was firm, and 
the bearing of his form as steady as if he felt no hazard in 
his undertaking. His look passed, with a seaman’s care, 
from sail to sail : not a brace, yard, or bowline escaped the 
quick glances he cast about him, before he proceeded to the 
side. At length he entered a boat which he had ordered 
to be in waiting. A glimmering of disgust and hesitation 
was now, for the first time, discoverable through the decision 
of his features. For a moment, his foot lingered on the 
ladder. “ Davis,” he said sternly, speaking to the individ- 
ual whom, by experience, he knew to be well practised in 
treachery, “ leave the boat. Send me the gruff captain of 
the forecastle in his place. So bold a talker in common 
should know how to be silent at need.” 


3 9 2 


Ube IReb IRover 


The exchange was instantly made ; for no one there was 
ever known to dispute a mandate that was uttered with the 
air of authority he then wore. A deeply intent attitude of 
thought succeeded ; then every shadow of care vanished 
from his brow. A look of high and generous confidence 
was seated in its place, as he added, — 

“ Wilder, adieu ! I leave you captain of my people and 
master of my fate ; I am certain that both trusts are reposed 
in worthy hands.” 

Without waiting for reply, as if scorning the vain cere- 
mony of idle assurances, he descended swiftly into the boat, 
which at the next instant was pulling boldly towards the 
king’s cruiser. The brief interval between the departure 
of the adventurers and their arrival at the hostile ship was 
one of intense and absorbing suspense on the part of all 
whom they had left behind. The individual most interested 
in the event, however, betrayed none of the anxiety which 
so intently beset the minds of his followers. He mounted 
the side of his enemy amid the honors due to his imaginary 
rank with a self-possession and ease that might readily have 
been mistaken, by those who believe these fancied qualities 
have a real existence, for the grace and dignity of lofty 
recollections and high birth. His reception by the honest 
veteran whose long and hard services had received but a 
meagre reward in the vessel he commanded, was frank, 
manly, and seamanlike. The usual greetings had no sooner 
passed, than the latter conducted his guest into his own 
apartments. 

“ Find such a berth, Captain Howard, as suits your incli- 
nation,” said the unceremonious old seaman, seating himself 
as frankly as he invited his companion to imitate his exam- 
ple. * ‘ A gentleman of your extrordinary merit must be 
reluctant to lose time in useless words, though you are so 
young — young for the pretty command it is your good 
fortune to enjoy ! ” 

“ On the contrary, I do assure you I begin to feel myself 
quite an antediluvian,” returned the Rover, coolly placing 
himself at the opposite side of the table, where he might, 
from time to time, look his half-disgusted companion in the 


XTbe 1 Reb iRover 


393 


eye; “ would you imagine it, sir, I shall have reached the 
age of three-and-twenty, if I live through the day?” 

‘ ‘ I had given you a few more years, young gentleman ; 
but Iyondon can ripen the human face as speedily as the 
equator.” 

“You never said truer words, sir. Of all cruising 
grounds, Heaven defend me from that of St. James’ ! I 
do assure you, Bignall, the service is quite sufficient to weat 
out the strongest constitution. There were moments when 
I really thought I should have died that humble, disagree- 
able mortal — a lieutenant ! ’ ’ 

“ Your disease would then have been a galloping con- 
sumption ! ” muttered the old seaman. “They have sent 
you out in a pretty boat at last, Captain Howard.” 

“She’s bearable, Bignall, but frightfully small. I told 
my father that, if the first lord did n’t speedily regenerate 
the service by building more comfortable vessels, the navy 
would get altogether into vulgar hands. Don’t you find the 
motion -excessively annoying in these single-decked ships, 
Bignall ? ” 

“ When a man has been tossing up and down for five- 
and-forty years, Captain Howard,” returned his host, strok- 
ing his gray locks, for want of some other manner of 
suppressing his ire, ‘ ‘ he gets to be indifferent whether his 
ship pitches a foot more or a foot less.” 

‘ ‘ Ah ! that, I dare say, is what one calls philosophical 
equanimity, though it is little to my humor. But, after this 
cruise, I am to be posted ; and then I shall make interest 
for a guard-ship in the Thames ; everything goes by inter- 
est, nowadays, you know, Bignall ? ’ ’ 

The honest old tar swallowed his displeasure as well as 
he could ; and, as the most effectual means of keeping him- 
self in a condition to do credit to his own hospitality, he 
hastened to change the subject. 

“ I hope, among other new fashions, Captain Howard,” 
he said, “ the flag of Old England continues to fly over the 
Admiralty. You wore the colors of Eouis so long this 
morning, that another half-hour might have brought us to 
loggerheads.” 


394 


TIbe IReb IRcwer 


“O ! that was an excellent military ruse! I shall cer- 
tainly write the particulars of that deception home.” 

“ Do so ; do so, sir; you may get knighthood for the 
exploit.” 

“ Horrible, Bignall ! my ladv-mother would faint at the 
suggestion. Nothing so low has been in the family, I do 
assure you, since the time when chivalry was genteel.” 

“Well, well, Captain Howard, it was happy for us both 
that you got rid of your Gallic humor so soon ; for a little 
more time would have drawn a broadside from me. By 
heavens, sir, the guns of this ship would have gone off of 
themselves, in another five minutes ! ” 

“ It is quite happy as it is. What do you find to amuse 
you (yawning) in this dull quarter of the world, Bignall ? ’ ’ 

“ Why, sir, what between his majesty’s enemies, the care 
of my ship, and the company of my officers, I find few heavy 
moments. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Ah ! your officers ; true, you must have officers on 
board ; though, I suppose, they are a little oldish to be 
agreeable to you. Will you favor me with the sight of the 
list?” 

The commander of the Dart did as he was requested, 
putting the quarter-bill of his ship into the hands of his un- 
known enemy, with an eye that was far too honest to con- 
descend to bestow even a look on a being so despised. 

“What a list of thorough ’mouthers! All Yarmouth, 
and Plymouth, and Portsmouth, and Exmouth names, I do 
affirm. Here are Smiths enough to do the iron- work of the 
whole ship. Ha ! here is a fellow that might do good ser- 
vice in a deluge. Who may this Henry Ark be, that I find 
rated as your first lieutenant ? ’ ’ 

‘ * A youth who wants but a few drops of your blood, 
Captain Howard, to be one day at the head of his majesty’s 
fleet.” 

“ If he be then so extraordinary for his merit, Captain 
Bignall, may I presume on your politeness to ask him to 
favor us with his society. I always give my lieutenant 
half an hour of a morning — if he happen to be bearable.” 

“ Poor boy ! God knows where he is to be found at 


Ube IReb IRover 


395 


this moment. The noble fellow has embarked, of his own 
accord, on a most dangerous service, and I am as ignorant 
as yourself of his success. Remonstrance, and even en- 
treaties, were of no avail. The admiral had great need of a 
suitable agent, and the good of the nation demanded the 
risk ; then, you know, men of humble birth must earn their 
preferment in cruising elsewhere than at St. James’ ; for 
the brave lad is indebted to a wreck, in which he was found 
an infant, for the very name you find so singular.” 

‘ ‘ He is, however, still borne upon your books as first 
lieutenant, I see ? ’ ’ 

“ And I hope ever will be, until he shall get the ship he 
so well merits. Good heaven ! are you ill, Captain How- 
ard? Boy, a tumbler of grog here.” 

‘ ‘ I thank you, sir, ’ ’ returned the Rover, smiling calmly, 
and rejecting the offered beverage, as the blood returned 
into his features with a violence that threatened to break 
through the ordinary boundaries of its currents. “It is no 
more than an ailing I inherit from my mother. We call it 
in our family, the ‘ De Vere ivory,’ for no other reason, 
that I could ever learn, than that one of my female ances- 
tors was particularly startled, in a delicate situation, you 
know, by an elephant’s tooth. I am told it has rather an 
amiable look, while it lasts.” 

“ It has the look of a man who is fitter for his mother’s 
nursery than a gale of wind. But I am glad it is so soon 
over. ’ ’ 

“No one wears the same face long nowadays, Bignall. 
And so this Mr. Ark is not anybody, after all? ” 

“ I know not what you call ‘ anybody,’ sir ; but, if ster- 
ling courage, great professional merit, and stern loyalty, 
count for anything in your estimation, Captain Howard, 
Henry Ark will soon be in command of a frigate.” 

“Perhaps, if one only knew exactly on what to found 
his claims,” continued the Rover, with a smile so kind, and 
a voice so insinuating, that they half counteracted the effect 
of his assumed manner, ‘ * a word might be dropped in a 
letter home, that should do the youth no harm. 

“ I would to Heaven I dared but reveal the nature of 


39 ^ 


Zhc IRefc 1 Rover 


the service he is on ! ” eagerly returned the warm-hearted 
old seaman, who was as quick to forget, as he was sudden 
to feel, disgust. “You may, however, safely say, from his 
general character, that it is honorable, hazardous, and has 
the entire good of his majesty’s subjects in view. Indeed, 
an hour has scarcely gone by since I thought it was com- 
pletely successful. Do you often set your lofty sails, 
Captain Howard, while the heavier canvas is rolled upon 
the yards ? To me, a ship clothed in that style looks some- 
thing like a man with his coat on, before he has cased his 
legs in the lower garment. ’ ’ 

“You allude to the accident of my main- top-gallant-sail 
getting loose when you first made me ? ’ ’ 

“ I mean no other. We caught a glimpse of your spars 
with the glass ; but had lost you altogether, when the fly- 
ing duck met the eye of a lookout. To say the least it 
was remarkable, and it might have proved an awkward 
circumstance. ’ ’ 

“ Ah ! I often do things in that way, in order to be odd. 
It is a sign of cleverness to be odd. But I, too, am sent 
into these seas on a special errand.’’ 

“Such as what?” bluntly demanded his companion, 
with an uneasiness about his frowning eye that he was far 
too simple-minded to conceal. 

“ To look for a ship that will certainly give me a famous 
lift, should I have the good luck to fall in with her. For 
some time, I took you for the very gentleman I was in 
search of; and I do assure you, too, if your signals had not 
been so very unexceptionable, something serious might 
have happened between us.” 

“ And pray, sir, for whom did you take me?” 

“For no other than that notorious knave, the Red 
Rover. ’ ’ 

“ The devil you did ! And do you suppose, Captain 
Howard, there is a pirate afloat who carries such hamper 
above his head as is to be found aboard the Dart ? Such 
a set to her sails— such a step to her masts— and such a 
trim to her hull ? I hope, for the honor of your vessel, sir, 
that the mistake went no further than the captain ! ” 


Uhc IRefc 1Ro\>er 


397 


“Until we got within reading distance of the signals, at 
least a moiety of the better opinions in my ship was dead 
against you, Bignall, I give you my declaration. You ’ve 
really been so long from home, that the Dart is getting 
quite a roving look. You may not be sensible of it, but I 
assure you of the fact merely as a friend.” 

“And, perhaps, since you did me the honor to mistake 
my vessel for a freebooter,” returned the old tar, smother- 
ing his ire in a look of facetious irony, which changed the 
expression of his mouth to a grim grin, ‘ ‘ you might have 
conceited this honest gentleman here to be no other than 
Beelzebub. ’ ’ 

As he spoke, the commander of the ship which had 
borne so odious an imputation directed the eyes of his com- 
panion to the form of a third individual, who entered the 
cabin with the freedom of a privileged person, but with a 
tread so light as to be inaudible. As this unexpected form 
met the quick, impatient glance of the pretended officer of 
the crown, he arose involuntarily, and, for half a minute, 
that admirable command of muscle and nerve which had 
served him so well in maintaining his masquerade appeared 
entirely to desert him. The loss of self-possession, how- 
ever, was but for a time so short as to attract no notice ; 
and he coolly returned the salutations of an aged man, of 
a meek and subdued look, with that air of blandness and 
courtesy which he so well knew how to assume. 

“ This gentleman is your chaplain, sir, I presume, by his 
clerical attire,” he said, after he had exchanged bows with 
the stranger. 

‘ ‘ He is, sir. A worthy and an honest man, whom I am 
not ashamed to call my friend. After a separation of thirty 
years, the admiral has been good enough to lend him to me 
for the cruise ; and, though my ship is none of the largest, 
I believe he finds himself as comfortable in her as he would 
aboard the flag. This gentleman, doctor, is the Honorable 
Captain Howard, of his majesty’s ship Antelope. I need 
not expatiate on his remarkable merit, since the command 
he bears at his years is a sufficient testimony on that im- 
portant particular. 


39 8 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


There was a look of bewildered surprise in the gaze of 
the divine, when his glance first fell upon the features of 
the pretended scion of nobility ; but it was far less striking 
than had been that of the subject of his gaze, and of much 
shorter continuance. He bowed meekly, and with the 
respect which long use begets in those who are accustomed 
to pay deference to hereditary rank ; but he did not appear 
to consider that the occasion required more than the custom- 
ary words of salutation. The Rover turned calmly to his 
veteran companion, and continued the discourse. 

“ Captain Bignall,” he said, again wearing that grace of 
manner which became him so well, “ it is my duty to follow 
your motions in this interview. I will now return to my 
ship ; and if, as I begin to suspect, we are in these seas on 
a similar errand, we can concert at our leisure a system of 
co-operation which, properly matured by your experience, 
may serve to bring about the common end we have in view/’ 

Greatly mollified by this concession to his years and to 
his rank, the commander of the Dart pressed his hospitali- 
ties more warmly on his guest, winding up his civilities by 
an invitation to join in a marine feast at an hour somewhat 
later in the day. All the former offers were politely de- 
clined, while the latter was accepted ; the invited making 
the invitation itself an excuse that he should return to his 
own vessel, in order that he might select such of his officers 
as he should deem most worthy of participating in the 
promised banquet. The veteran and really meritorious 
Bignall, notwithstanding the ordinary sturdy blustering of 
his character, had served too long in indigence and com- 
parative obscurity not to feel some of the longings of 
human nature for his hard-earned and protracted prefer- 
ment. He consequently kept, in the midst of all his native 
and manly honesty, a wary eye on the means of accomplish- 
ing this material object. It is to occasion no surprise, 
therefore, that his parting from the supposed son of a 
powerful champion at court was more amicable than the 
meeting. The Rover was bowed from the cabin to the 
deck, with at least an appearance of returning good-will. 
On reaching the latter, a hurried, suspicious, and perhaps 


XTbe IReb 1Ro\>er 


399 


an uneasy glance, was thrown from his restless eyes on 
many faces that were grouped around the gangway ; but 
their expression became calm again, and a little supercilious 
withal, in order to do no discredit to the part in the comedy 
which it was his present humor to enact. Then, shaking 
the worthy and thoroughly deceived old seaman heartily by 
the hand, he touched his hat, with an air half-haughty, 
half-condescending to his inferiors. He was in the act of 
descending into the boat, when the chaplain was seen to 
whisper something, with great earnestness, in the ear of his 
captain. The commander hastened to recall his departing 
guest, desiring him, with startling gravity, to lend him his 
private attention for another moment. Suffering himself 
to be led apart by the two, the Rover stood awaiting their 
pleasures, with a coolness of demeanor that, under the 
peculiar circumstances of his case, did signal credit to his 
nerves. 

“Captain Howard,” resumed the warm-hearted Bignall, 
“ have you a gentleman of the cloth in your vessel ? ” 

“Two, sir,” was the answer. 

‘ ‘ Two ! It is rare to find a supernumerary priest in a man 
of war ! But, I suppose, court influence could give the fellow 
a bishop,” muttered the other. “ You are fortunate in this 
particular, young gentleman, since I am indebted to inclina- 
tion rather than to custom, for the society of my worthy 
friend here. He has, however, made a point that I should 
include the reverend gentleman— I should say gentlemen— 
in the invitation.” 

“ You shall have all the divinity of my ship, Bignall, on 
my faith. ’ ’ 

“ I believe I was particular in naming your first lieuten- 
ant.” 

“ O ! dead or alive, he shall surely be of your party, re- 
turned the Rover, with a suddenness and vehemence of utter- 
ance that occasioned both his auditors to start with surprise. 
“ You may not find him an ark to rest your weary foot on ; 
but, such as he is, he is entirely at your service. And now, 
once more, I salute you.” 

Bowing again, he proceeded, with his former deliberate 


400 


Ufte tRefc Iftcwer 


air, over the gangway, keeping his eye riveted on the lofty 
gear of the Dart, as he descended her side, with the sort of 
expression with which a petit-maitre is apt to regard the 
fashion of the garments of one newly arrived from the prov- 
inces. His superior repeated his invitation with warmth, 
and waved his hand in a frank but temporary adieu ; thus 
unconsciously suffering the man to escape him, whose cap- 
ture would have purchased the long postponed and still 
distant advantages for whose possession he secretly pined 
with the withering longings of a hope cruelly deferred. 






CHAPTER XXVIII. 

“ Let them accuse me by invention ; I will answer in mine honor.” 

Coriolanus. 

~T ES,” muttered the Rover, as his boat rowed 
V/ under the stern of the royal cruiser ; “ yes ! I, 

1 and my officers, will taste of your banquet ! 

But the viands shall be such as these hirelings 
of the king shall little relish ! Pull with a will, my men, 
pull ; in an hour, you shall rummage the store-rooms of that 
fool for your reward ! ” 

The greedy freebooters could scarcely restrain their shouts, 
in order to maintain the air of moderation which policy still 
imposed ; but they gave vent to their excitement, by redoub- 
ling their efforts to regain their own ship. In another minute, 
the adventurers were all in safety again under the sheltering 
guns of the Dolphin. 

His people gathered, from the haughty eye of the Rover, 
as his foot once more touched the deck of his own ship, that 
the period of action was at hand. For an instant, he lingered 
on the quarter-deck, surveying, with stem joy, the sturdy 
materials of his command ; then he abruptly entered his cabin, 
forgetful that he had conceded it to others, or, in the excited 
state of his mind, indifferent to the circumstance. A sudden 
and tremendous blow on the gong announced not only his 
presence, but his humor. 

“ Let the first lieutenant be told I await him ! ” was the 
order that followed the appearance of the attendant he had 
summoned. 

During the short period which elapsed before his mandate 
could be obeyed, the Rover seemed struggling with a passion 


402 


Ube IReb IRover 


that choked him. But when the door of the cabin was 
opened, and Wilder stood before him, the most suspicious 
and closest observer might have sought in vain any evidence 
of the fierce feelings which agitated the inward man. With 
the recovery of his self-command, returned a recollection of 
the manner of his intrusion into a place which he had him- 
self ordained should be privileged. It was then that he first 
sought the shrinking females, and hastened to relieve the 
terror that was too plainly to be seen in their countenances, 
by words of apology and explanation. 

“ In the hurry of an interview with a friend,’ * he said, “ I 
may have forgotten that I am host to even such guests as it 
is my happiness to entertain, though I discharge my duties 
so indifferently.” 

“Spare your civilities, sir,” said Mrs. Wyllys, with dig- 
nity. “ In order to make us less sensible of intrusion, be 
pleased to act the master here.” 

The Rover first saw the ladies seated ; and then, like one 
who appeared to think the occasion might excuse any little 
departure from customary forms, he signed, with a smile of 
high courtesy, to his lieutenant to imitate their example. 

“His majesty’s artisans have sent worse ships than the 
Dart upon the ocean, Wilder,” he commenced, significantly, 
as if he intended that the other should supply all the mean- 
ing that his words did not express ; ‘ ‘ but his ministers 
might have selected a more observant individual for the , 
command.” 

“Captain Bignall has the reputation of a brave and 
honest man.” 

‘ ‘ He should deserve it ; strip him of these two qualities, 
and little would remain. He gives me to understand that 
he is especially sent into this latitude in quest of a ship that 
we have all heard of, either in good or evil report ; I speak 
of the Red Rover ! ” 

The involuntary start of Mrs. Wyllys, and the sudden 
manner in which Gertrude grasped the arm of her governess, ; 
were certainly seen by the speaker, but in no degree did his 
manner betray the consciousness of such an observation. 
His self-possession was admirably emulated by Wilder, who 


Ube IReb IRover 


403 


answered with a composure that no jealousy could have seen 
was assumed, — 

“ His cruise will be hazardous, not to say without success.” 

“ It may prove both. And yet he has lofty expectations 
of the results.” 

‘ ‘ He probably labors under the common error as to the 
character of the man he seeks.” 

“ In what does he mistake ? ” 

“In supposing that he will encounter an ordinary free- 
booter ; one coarse, rapacious, ignorant, and inexorable, like 
others of — ” 

“Of what, sir?” 

“ I would have said, of his class ; but a mariner like him 
we speak of, forms the head of his own order. * ’ 

“ We will call him, then, by his popular name, Mr. Wil- 
der — a rover. But is it not remarkable that so experienced 
a seaman should come to this little frequented sea in quest 
of a ship whose pursuits ought to call her into more bustling 
scenes ? ’ ’ 

“ He may have traced her through the narrow passages 
of the islands, and followed on the course she has last been 
seen steering.” 

“ He may, indeed,” returned the Rover, musing. “Your 
thorough mariner knows how to calculate the chances of 
winds and currents, as the bird finds its way in air. Still, 
a description of the ship would at least be needed, as a 
clue.” 

Wilder, notwithstanding an effort to the contrary, suf- 
fered his eyes to sink before the piercing gaze they en- 
countered. 

“ Perhaps he is not without that knowledge, too,” he 
answered.” 

“ Perhaps not. Indeed, he gave me reason to believe he 
has an agent in the secrets of his enemy. Nay, he expressly 
avowed the same, and acknowledged that his prospects 
of success depended on the skill and information of that 
individual, who no doubt has his private means of commun- 
icating what he learns of the movements of those with whom 
he serves.” 


404 


Ufoe IRefc IRover 


“ Did he name him ? ” 

“ He did.” 

“ It was — ” 

“ Henry — Ark, alias Wilder ! ” 

“ It is vain to attempt denial,” said our adventurer, rising 
with an air of pride that he intended should conceal the 
uneasy sensation that in truth beset him ; “ I find you know 
me.” 

“ For a false traitor, sir ! ” 

“ Captain Heidegger, you are safe, here, in using these 
reproachful terms.” 

The Rover struggled, and struggled successfully, to keep 
down the risings of his temper ; but the effort lent to his 
countenance gleamings of fierce scorn. 

“ You will communicate that fact also to your superiors,” j 
he said, with taunting irony. ‘ ‘ The monster of the seas, 
he who plunders defenceless fishermen, ravages unprotected ! 
coasts, and eludes the’ flag of King George, as other ser- 
pents, steal into their caves at the footstep of man, is safe in 
speaking his mind, backed by a hundred and fifty freeboot- 
ers, and in the security of his own cabin. Perhaps he 
knows, too, that he is breathing in the atmosphere of peace- 
ful and peace-making woman.” 

But the first surprise of the subject of his scorn had passed, (' 
and he was neither to be goaded into retort, nor terrified 
into entreaties. Folding his arms with calmness, Wilder 
simply replied, — 

“ I have incurred this risk, in order to drive a scourge from 
the ocean, which had baffled all other attempts at its exter- 
mination. I knew the hazard, and shall not shrink from its 
penalty.” 

“You shall not, sir!” returned the Rover, striking the 
gong again with a finger that appeared to carry in its touch t 
the weight of a giant. “ Tet the negro, and the top-man i 
his companion, be secured in irons ; on no account permit 
them to communicate, by word or signal, with the other 
ship.” When the agent of his punishments, who entered 
at the well-known summons, had retired, he again turned to 
the firm and motionless form that stood before him. “ Mr. 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


405 


Wilder,” he continued, “ there is a law which binds together 
this community, into which you have so treacherously stolen, 
that would consign you and your miserable confederates to 
the yard-arm, the instant your true character should be 
known to my people. I have but to open that door, and to 
pronounce the nature of your treason, and to yield you to 
the tender mercies of the crew.” 

“You will not ! no, you will not ! ” cried a voice at his 
elbow, which thrilled on even his iron nerves. “ You have 
forgotten the ties which bind man to his fellows, but cruelty 
is not natural to your heart. By all the recollections of 
your earliest and happiest days ; by the tenderness and pity 
which watched your childhood ; by that holy and omnis- 
cient Being who suffers not a hair of the innocent to go 
unrevenged, I conjure you to pause, before you forget your 
own awful responsibility. No ! you will not — cannot — 
dare not be so merciless ! ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ What fate did he contemplate for me and my followers, 
when he entered on this insidious design ? ’ ’ hoarsely de- 
manded the Rover. 

“The laws of God and man are with him,” continued 
Mrs. Wyllys, for it was she ; “ ’t is reason that speaks in 
my voice; ’t is mercy, which I know is pleading at your 
heart. The cause, the motive, sanctify his acts ; while 
your career can find justification in the laws neither of 
heaven nor earth.” 

‘ ‘ This is bold language to sound in the ears of a blood- 
seeking, remorseless pirate ! ’ ’ said the other, looking around 
with a smile so proud that it seemed to proclaim how plainly 
he saw that the speaker relied on the very reverse of the 
qualities he named. 

“ It is the language of truth ; and ears like yours cannot 
be deaf to the sounds. If — ’ ’ 

“ Rady, cease ! ” interrupted the Rover, stretching his arm 
towards her with calmness. “My resolution was formed 
on the instant ; and no remonstrance, nor apprehension of 
the consequence, can change it. Mr. Wilder, you are free. 
If you have not served me as faithfully as I once expected, 
you have taught me a lesson in the art of physiognomy 


40 6 


Qhe IRefc IRovct 


which shall leave me a wiser man for the rest of my 
days.” 

The conscious Wilder stood self-condemned and humbled. 
The strugglings which stirred his inmost soul were to be 
read in the workings of a countenance that was no longer 
masked in artifice, but which expressed both shame and 
sorrow. The conflict lasted but a moment. 

“ Perhaps you know not the extent of my object, Captain 
Heidegger,” he said ; “it embraced the forfeit of your life, 
and the destruction or dispersion of your crew.” 

“ According to the established usages of that portion of 
the world which, having the power, oppresses the remainder, 
it did. Go, sir ; rejoin your proper ship ; I repeat, you are 
free.” 

“I cannot leave you, Captain Heidegger, without one 
word of justification.” 

“What! can the hunted, denounced, and condemned 
freebooter command an explanation? Is even his good 
opinion necessary to a virtuous servant of the crown ? ” 

“Use such terms of triumph and reproach as suit your 
pleasure, sir ; to me your language can convey no offence ; 
still I would not leave you without removing part of the 
odium which you think I merit. ’ ’ 

“ Speak freely. Sir, you are my guest.” 

The most cutting revilings could not have wounded the 
repentant Wilder so deeply as this generous conduct, but he 
subdued his feelings, and continued, — 

“You are not now to learn,” he said, “ that vulgar rumor 
has given a color to your conduct and character which is not 
of a quality to command esteem.” 

“You may find leisure to deepen the tints,” hastily inter- 
rupted the listener, though the tremor of his voice denoted 
how deeply he felt the wound given by a world that he 
affected to despise. 

“ If called upon to speak at all, my words shall be those 
of truth, Captain Heidegger. Is it surprising that, filled 
with the ardor of a service you once thought honorable your- 
self, I should be found willing to risk life, and if you will, 
even to play the hypocrite, in order to achieve an object that 


Ube IReb iRover 


407 


would not only have been rewarded, but approved, had it 
been successful ? With such sentiments I embarked on the 
enterprise ; but, as Heaven is my judge, your manly confi- 
dence had half disarmed me, when my foot had hardly 
crossed the threshold of my enterprise.” 

“You turned not back ? ” 

“ There might have been irresistible reasons to the con- 
trary,” resumed the defendant, glancing his eyes at the 
females. “ I kept my faith at Newport ; and, had my two 
followers then been released from your ship, my foot should 
never have entered her again.” 

“Young man, I am willing to believe you. I think } 
penetrate your motives. You have played a delicate game ; 
instead of repining, you will one day rejoice that it has been 
fruitless. Go, sir ; a boat shall attend you to the Dart.” 

“Deceive not yourself, Captain Heidegger, in believing 
that any generosity of yours can shut my eyes to my proper 
duty. The instant I am seen by the commander of the ship 
you name, your character will be betrayed.” 

“ I expect it.” 

“Nor will my hand be idle in the struggle that must fol- 
low. I may die, here, a victim to my mistake, if you please ; 
but, the moment I am released, I unavoidably become your 
enemy.” 

“ Wilder ! ” exclaimed the Rover, grasping his hand with 
a smile that partook of the wild energy of his manner, “ we 
should have been acquainted earlier ! But regret is idle. 
Go ; should my people learn the truth, any remonstrance of 
mine would be like whispers in a whirlwind. ’ ’ 

“ When I joined the Dolphin last, I did not come alone.” 

“ Is it not enough,” rejoined the Rover, recoiling a step, 
“ that I offer you liberty and life ? ” 

“ Of what service can a being, fair, helpless, and unfortu- 
nate as this, be in a ship devoted to pursuits like those of 
the Dolphin ? ” 

“Am I to be cut off forever from communion with the 
best of my kind ? Go, sir ; leave me the image of virtue, 
at least, though I may be wanting in its substance.” 

“ Captain Heidegger, once, in the warmth of your better 


408 


XTbe 1 Reb 1 Rover 


feelings, you pronounced a pledge in favor of these females, 
which I hope came from the heart. ’ ’ 

“I understand you, sir. What I then said is not, nor 
shall it be, forgotten. But whither would you lead your 
companions ? Is not one vessel on the high seas as safe as 
another ? Am I to be deprived of every means of making 
friends unto myself? Leave me, sir — go — you may linger 
until my permission to depart cannot avail you.” 

“ I shall never desert my charge,” said Wilder, firmly. 

“Mr. Wilder, — or I should rather call you Lieutenant 
Ark, I believe,” returned the Rover, “ you may trifle with 
my good nature till the moment of your own security shall 
be past.” 

“ Act your will on me ; I die at my post, or go accompa- 
nied by those with whom I came. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Sir, the acquaintance of which you boast is not older 
than my own. How know you that they prefer you for 
their protector? I have deceived myself, and done poor 
justice to my own intentions, if they have found cause for 
complaints, since their happiness or comfort has been in my 
keeping. Speak, fair one ; which of us do you choose for a 
protector? ” 

“ Leave me, leave me ! ” exclaimed Gertrude, veiling her 
eyes, from the insidious smile with which he approached her, 
as she would have avoided the glance of a basilisk. “ O ! if 
you have pity in your heart, let us quit your ship ! ’ ’ 

Notwithstanding the vast self-command which the being 
she so ungovernably and spontaneously repelled had in com- 
mon over his feelings, no effort could repress the look of deep 
and humiliating mortification with which he heard her. 
A cold and haggard smile gleamed over his features, as he 
murmured, in a voice which he in vain endeavored to 
smother, — 

‘ ‘ I have purchased this disgust from all of my species, 
and dearly must the penalty be paid ! Lady, you and your 
lovely ward are mistresses of your own acts. This ship, 
and this cabin, are at your command ; or, if you elect to quit 
both, others will receive you.” 

“ Safety for our sex is only to be found beneath the foster- 


Ube IReb IRover 


409 

in g protection of the laws,” said Mrs. Wyllys. “Would 
to God—” 

“ Knough ! ” he interrupted, “ you shall accompany your 
friend. The ship will not be emptier than my heart, when 
all have left me.” 

“ Did you call ? ” asked a low voice at his elbow, in tones 
so plaintive and mild that they could not fail to catch his 
ear. 

“Roderick,” he hurriedly replied, “you will find occu- 
pation below. Leave us, good Roderick. For a while, 
leave me.” 

Then, as if anxious to close the scene as speedily as pos- 
sible, he gave another of his signals on the gong. An order 
was given to convey Fid and the black into a boat, whither 
he also sent the scanty baggage of his female guests. So 
soon as these brief arrangements were completed, he handed 
the governess with studied courtesy, through his wondering 
people, to the side, and saw her safely seated, with her ward 
and Wilder, in the pinnace. The oars were manned by the 
two seamen, and a silent adieu was given by a wave of his 
hand ; after which he disappeared from those to whom their 
present release seemed as imaginary and unreal as most of 
the other events of the few preceding weeks. 

The threat of the interference of the crew of the Dolphin 
was, however, still ringing in the ears of Wilder. He made 
an impatient gesture to his attendants to ply their oars, cau- 
tiously steering the boat on such a course as would soonest 
lead her from beneath the guns of the freebooters. While 
passing under the stern of the Dolphin, a hoarse hail was 
sent across the waters, and the voice of the Rover was 
heard speaking to the commander of the Dart. 

“I send you a party of your guests,” he said; “and, 
among them, all the divinity of my ship.” 

The passage was short ; nor was time given for the lib- 
erated to arrange their thoughts, before it became necessary 
to ascend the side of the cruiser of the crown. 

“ Heaven help us ! ” exclaimed Bignall, catching a glimpse 
of the sex of his visitors through a port ; ‘ ‘ Heaven help us 
both, parson ! That young hare-brained fellow has sent us 


4io 


Ube IReb IRover 


a brace of petticoats aboard ; and these the profane repro- 
bate calls his divinities ! One may easily guess where he 
has picked up such quality, but, cheer up, doctor ; we may 
honestly forget the cloth in five fathom water, you know.” 

The facetious laugh of the old commander of the Dart 
betrayed that he was more than half disposed to overlook 
the fancied presumption of his audacious inferior ; furnish- 
ing a sort of pledge that no undue scruples should defeat 
the hilarity of the moment. But when Gertrude, flushed 
with the excitement of the scene through which she had just 
passed, and beaming with a loveliness that derived so much 
of its character from its innocence, appeared on his deck, 
the veteran rubbed his eyes in an amazement which could 
not have been greatly surpassed, had one of that species of 
beings the Rover had named actually fallen at his feet from 
the skies. 

“The heartless scoundrel ! ” cried the worthy tar, “ to 
lead astray one so young and so lovely ! Ha ! as I live, 
my own lieutenant ! How ’s this, Mr. Ark ? have we fallen 
on the days of miracles ? ’ ’ 

An exclamation, which came from the heart of the gov- 
erness, and a low and mournful echo from the lips of the 
divine, interrupted the further expression of his indigna- 
tion and his wonder. 

“ Captain Bignall,” observed the former, pointing to the 
tottering form which was leaning on Wilder for support, 
“on my life, you are mistaken in the character of this lady. 
It is more than twenty years since we last met, but I pledge 
my own character for the purity and truth of hers.” 

“Dead me to the cabin,” murmured Mrs. Wyllys. 
“Gertrude, my love, where are we? Tead me to some 
secret place.” 

Her request was complied with ; the whole party retiring 
in a body from the sight of the spectators who thronged the 
deck. Here the agitated governess regained a portion of 
her self-command, and then her wandering gaze sought the 
meek countenance of the chaplain. 

“This is a tardy and heart-rending meeting,” she said, 
pressing the hand he gave her to her lips. ‘ ‘ Gertrude, in 


Ube IReb IRover 


411 


this gentleman you see the divine that united me to the 
man who once formed the pride and happiness of my exist- 
ence.” 

“Mourn not his loss,” whispered the reverend priest, 
bending over her chair with the interest of a parent. “ He 
was taken from you at an early hour ; but he died as all who 
loved him might have wished.” 

‘ ‘ And none was left to bear, in remembrance of his qual- 
ities, his name to posterity ! Tell me, good Merton, is not 
the hand of Providence visible in this dispensation ? Ought 
I not to humble myself before it, as a just punishment of 
my disobedience to an affectionate, though too obdurate, 
parent ? ’ ’ 

“None may presume to pry into the mysteries of the 
righteous government that orders all things. Enough for 
us, that we learn to submit to the will of Him who rules, 
without questioning his justice.” 

“ But,” continued the governess, in tones so husky as to 
betray how powerfully she felt the temptation to forget his 
admonition, “ would not one life have sufficed ? was I to be 
deprived of all ? ” 

“Madam, reflect! What has been done was done in 
wisdom, as I trust it was in mercy.” 

“ You say truly. I will forget all of the sad events, but 
their application to myself. And you, worthy and benevo- 
lent Merton, where and how have been passed your days 
since the time of which we speak ? ” 

“lam but a low and humble shepherd of a truant flock,” 
returned the meek chaplain, with a sigh. “ Many distant 
seas have I visited, and many strange faces, and stranger 
natures, has it been my lot to encounter in my pilgrimage. 
I am but lately returned from the East, into the hemisphere 
where I first drew breath ; and, by permission of our supe- 
riors, I came to pass a month in the vessel of a companion 
whose friendship bears even an older date than yours.” 

“Ay, ay, madam,” returned the worthy Bignall, whose 
feelings had been a little disturbed by the previous scene ; 
“ it is near half a century since the parson and I were boys 
together, and we have been rubbing up old recollections on 


412 


Ube IReb IRover 


the cruise. Happy am I that a lady of so commendable 
qualities has come to make one of our party. ” 

‘ ‘ In this lady you see the daughter of the late Captain 

, and the relict of the son of our ancient commander, 

Rear Admiral De Eacey,” hastily resumed the divine, as if 
he knew the well-meaning honesty of his friend was more 
to be trusted than his discretion. 

“ I know them both ; brave men and thorough seamen 
were the pair ! The lady was welcome as your friend, Mer- 
ton ; but she is doubly so, as the widow and child of the 
gentlemen you name.” 

“ De Racey ! ” murmured a voice in the ear of the gov- 
erness. 

“The law gives me a title to bear that name,” returned 
she, whom we shall still continue to call by her assumed 
appellation, folding her weeping pupil long and affection- 
ately to her bosom. “ The veil is unexpectedly withdrawn, 
my love, and concealment would now be worse than useless. 
My father was the captain of the flag-ship. Necessity com- 
pelled him to leave me more in the society of your young 
relative than he would have done, could he have foreseen 
the consequences. But I knew both his pride and his pov- 
erty too well to dare to make him arbiter of my fate, after 
the alternative became, to my inexperienced imagination, 
worse even than his anger. We were privately united by 
this gentleman, and neither of our parents knew of the con- 
nection. Death — ” 

The voice of the widow became choked, and she made a 
sign to the chaplain, as if she would have him continue the 
tale. 

“ Mr. De Eacey and his father-in-law fell in the same 
battle, within a short month of the ceremony,” added the 
subdued voice of Merton. “ Even you, dearest madam, 
never knew the melancholy particulars of their end. I was 
a solitary witness of their deaths ; for to me they were both 
consigned, amid the confusion of the battle. Their blood 
was mingled ; and your parent, in blessing the young hero, 
unconsciously blessed his son.” 

“ O ! I deceived his noble nature, and dearly have I paid 


Ube IReb iRorer 


413 


the penalty ! ” exclaimed the self- abased widow. “ Tell me, 
Merton, did he ever know of my marriage ? ” 

“ He did not. Mr. De Tacey died first, and upon his 
bosom, for he loved him ever as a child ; but other thoughts 
than useless explanations were uppermost in their minds.” 

“ Gertrude,” said the governess, in hollow, repentant 
tones, “ there is no peace for our feeble sex but in submis- 
sion ; no happiness but in obedience.” 

“ It is over now,” whispered the weeping girl ; “ all over 
and forgotten. I am your child — your own Gertrude, the 
creature of your formation.” 

“Harry Ark!” exclaimed Bignall, clearing his throat 
with a hem so vigorous as to carry the sound to the outer 
deck, seizing the arm of his entranced lieutenant, and drag- 
ging him from the scene while he spoke. ‘ ‘ What the devil 
besets the boy ! You forget that, all this time, I am as 
ignorant of your own adventures as his majesty’s prime 
minister is of navigation. Why do I see you here, a visitor 
from a royal cruiser, when I thought you were playing the 
mock pirate? and how came that harum-scarum twig of 
nobility in possession of so goodly a company, as well as of 
so brave a ship ? ’ ’ 

Wilder drew a long breath, like one that awakes from a 
pleasing dream, reluctantly suffering himself to be forced 
from a spot where he fondly felt that he could have contin- 
ued, without weariness, forever. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



“Let them achieve me, and then sell my bones.” 

Henry V. 

T HE commander of the Dart and his bewildered lieu- 
tenant had gained the quarter-deck before either 
spoke again. The direction first taken by the 
eyes of the latter was in quest of the neighboring 
ship ; nor was the look entirely without that unsettled and 
vague expression which seems to announce a momentary 
aberration of the faculties. But the vessel of the Rover 
was in view, in all the palpable and beautiful proportions of 
her admirable construction. Instead of lying in a state of 
rest, as when he left her, her head-yards had been swung, 
and as the sails filled with the breeze, the stately fabric had 
begun to move gracefully, though with no great velocity, 
along the water. There was not the slightest appearance in 
the evolution, however, of any attempt at escape. On the 
contrary, the loftier and lighter sails were all furled, and 
men were at the moment actively employed in sending to 
the deck those familiar spars which were absolutely requisite 
in spreading the canvas that would be needed in facilitating 
her flight. Wilder turned from the sight with a sickening 
apprehension ; for he well knew that these were the prepar- 
ations that skilful mariners are wont to make, when bent on 
desperate combat. 

“ Ay, yonder goes your St. James’ seaman, with his 
three top-sails full, and his mizzen out, as if he had already 
forgotten he is to dine with me, and that his name is to be 
found at one end of the list of commanders, and mine at the 
other,” grumbled the displeased Bignall. “But we shall 
have him coming round, I suppose, when his appetite tells 



XTbe IReb iRcwer 


415 


him the dinner hour. He might wear his colors in presence 
of a senior, too, and no disgrace to his nobility. By the 
Lord, Harry Ark, he handles his yards beautifully ! I 
warrant you, now, some honest man’s son is sent aboard his 
ship for a dry nurse, in the shape of a first lieutenant, and 
we shall have him vaporing, all dinner time, about ‘ how my 
ship does this,’ and ‘ I never suffer that.’ Ha ! is it not so, 
sir ? He has a thorough seaman for his first ? ” 

“ Few men understand the profession better than the cap- 
tain of yonder vessel himself,” returned Wilder. 

“ The devil he does ! You have been talking with him, 
Mr. Ark, about these matters, and he has got some of the 
fashions of the Dart. I can see into a mystery as quick as 
another ! ” 

“I do assure you, Captain Bignall, there is no safety in 
confiding in the ignorance of yonder extraordinary man.” 

“ Ay, ay, I begin to overhaul his character. The young 
dog is a quiz, and has been amusing himself with a sailor of 
what he calls the old school. Am I right, sir ? He has seen 
salt water before this cruise ? ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ He is almost a native of the seas ; for more than thirty 
years he has passed his time on them.” 

“ There, Harry Ark, he has done you handsomely. Now, 
I have his own assertion for it, that he will not be three-and- 
twenty until to-morrow.” 

“ On my word, he has deceived you, sir.” 

“I don’t know, Mr. Ark; that is a task much easier 
attempted than performed. Threescore and four years old 
add as much weight to a man’s head as to his heels ! I 
may have undervalued the skill of the younker, but, as to 
his years, there can be no great mistake. But where the 
devil is the fellow steering to ? Has he need of a pinafore 
from his lady-mother to come on board of a man-of-war 
to dine ? ’ ’ 

“ See ! he is indeed standing from us ! ” exclaimed Wil- 
der, with a rapidity and delight that would have excited the 
suspicions of one more observant than his commander. 

“ If I know the stern from the bows of a ship, what you 
say is truth,” returned the other, with some austerity. 


4i 6 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


“ Hark ye, Mr. Ark, I ’ve a mind to furnish the coxcomb a 
lesson in respect for his superiors, and give him a row to whet 
his appetite. By the Lord, I will ; and he may write home 
an account of this manoeuvre, too, in his next despatches. 
Fill away the after-yards, sir ! fill away. Since this honorable 
youth is disposed to amuse himself with a sailing-match, he 
can take no offence that others are in the same humor. ’ * 

The lieutenant of the watch, to whom the order was 
addressed, complied ; and, in another minute, the Dart was 
also beginning to move ahead ; though in a direction directly 
opposite to that taken by the Dolphin. The old man highly 
enjoyed his own decision, manifesting his satisfaction by the 
infinite glee and deep chuckling of his manner. He was too 
much occupied with the step he had just taken to revert 
immediately to the subject that had so recently been upper- 
most in his mind ; nor did the thought of pursuing the dis- 
course occur to him, until the two ships had left a broad 
field of water between them, as each moved, with ease and 
steadiness, on its proper course. 

“Let him note that in his log-book, Mr. Ark,” the irri- 
table old seaman then resumed, returning to the spot which 
Wilder had not left during the intervening time. “ Though 
my cook has no great relish for a frog, they who would 
taste of his skill must seek him. By the Ford, boy, he will 
have a pull of it, if he undertake to come-to on that tack. 
But how happens it that you got into his ship ? All that 
part of the cruise remains untold.” 

‘ ‘ I have been wrecked, sir, since you received my last 
letter.” 

“What! has Davy Jones got possession of the red 
gentleman at last ? ’ ’ 

“ The misfortune occurred in a ship from Bristol, aboard 
which I was placed as a sort of prize-master. He certainly 
continues to stand slowly to the northward ! ’ * 

Let the young coxcomb go ! he will have all the better 
appetite for his supper. And so you were picked up by 
his majesty’s ship the Antelope. Ay, I see the whole 
affair. Give an old sea-dog his course and compass, and he 
will find his way to port in the darkest night. But how 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


417 


happened it that this Mr. Howard affected to be ignorant of 
your name, sir, when he saw it on the list of my officers.” 

* ‘ Ignorant ! Did he seem ignorant ? perhaps — ’ ’ 

“Say no more, my brave fellow, say no more,” inter- 
rupted Wilder’s considerate but choleric commander. “I 
have met with such rebuffs myself ; but we are above them, 
sir, far above them and their impertinences together. No 
man need be ashamed of having earned his commission, as 
you and I have done, in fair weather and in foul. Zounds, 
boy, I have fed one of the upstarts for a week, and then 
had him stare at a church across the way, when I have 
fallen in with him in the streets of London, in a manner to 
make a simple man believe the puppy knew for what it had 
been built. Think no more of it, Harry ; worse things 
have happened to myself, I do assure you.” 

“ I went by an assumed name while in his ship,” Wilder 
forced himself to add. ‘ ‘ Even the ladies, who were the 
companions of my wreck, knew me by no other.” 

“Ah ! that was prudent; and, after all, the young sprig 
was not pretending genteel ignorance. How now, Master 
Fid ! you are welcome back to the Dart.” 

“ I ’ve taken the liberty to say as much already to myself, 
your honor,” resumed the top-man, who was busying himself 
near his two officers, in a manner that seemed to invite their 
attention. “ A wholesome craft is yonder, and boldly is she 
commanded, and stoutly is she manned ; but, for my part, 
having a character to lose, it is more to my taste to sail in 
a ship that can show her commission when properly called 
on for the same. ’ ’ 

The color on Wilder’s cheeks went and came, like the 
flushings of the evening sky, and his eyes were turned in 
every direction but that which would have encountered the 
astonished gaze of his veteran friend. 

“Iam not quite sure that I understand the meaning of 
the lad, Mr. Ark. Every officer, from the captain to the 
boatswain, in the king’s fleet, that is, every man of common 
discretion, carries his authority to act as such with him to 
sea, or he might find himself in a situation as awkward as 
that of a pirate.” 

27 


418 


XTbe IRefc 1 Rover 


“That is just what I said, sir; but schooling and long 
use have given your honor a better outfit in words. Guinea 
and I have often talked the matter over together, and 
serious thoughts has it given to us both, more than once, 
Captain Bignall. ‘Suppose/ says I to the black, ‘suppose 
one of his majesty’s boats should happen to fall in with this 
here craft, and we should come to loggerheads and matches, 
says I, ‘ what would the like of us two do in such a god- 
send?’ ‘Why,’ says the black, ‘we would stand to our 
guns on the side of Master Harry,’ sa}^s he ; nor did I gain- 
say the same ; but, saving his presence and your honor’s, I 
just took the liberty to add, that, in my poor opinion, it 
would be much more comfortable to be killed in an honest 
ship than on the deck of a buccaneer.” 

“A buccaneer!” exclaimed his commander, with eyes 
distended, and an open mouth. 

“ Captain Bignall,” said Wilder, “ I may have offended, 
past forgiveness, in remaining so long silent ; but when you 
hear my tale, there may be found some passages that shall 
plead my apology. The vessel in sight is the ship of the 
renowned Red Rover ; nay, listen, I conjure you, by all 
that kindness you have so long shown me, and then censure 
as you will.” 

The words of Wilder, aided, as they were, by an earnest 
and manly manner, laid a restraint on the mounting indig- 
nation of the choleric old seaman. He listened gravely and 
intently to the rapid but clear tale which his lieutenant 
hastened to recount ; and, ere the latter had done, he had 
more than half entered into those grateful, and certainly 
generous feelings which had made the youth so reluctant 
to betray the obnoxious character of a man who had dealt 
so liberally by himself. A few strong, and what might be 
termed professional exclamations of surprise and admiration 
occasionally interrupted the narrative ; but, on the whole, 
he curbed his impatience and his feelings, in a manner that 
was sufficiently remarkable, when the temperament of the 
individual is duly considered. 

“ This is wonderful indeed ! ” he exclaimed, as the other 
ended ; ‘ ‘ and a thousand pities is it that so honest a fellow 


XTbe IReb IRover 


4 T 9 

should be so arrant a knave. But, Harry, we can never 
let him go at large, after all ; our loyalty and our religion 
forbid it. We must tack ship, and stand after him ; if fair 
words won’t bring him to reason, I see no other remedy 
than blows.” 

“ I fear it is no more than our duty, sir,” returned the 
young man, with a sigh. 

“ It is a matter of morals. And then the prating puppy 
that he sent on board me is no captain after all ! Still it 
was impossible to deceive me as to the air and manner of a 
gentleman. I warrant me, some young reprobate of a good 
family, or he would never have acted the sprig so well. 
We must try to keep his name a secret, Mr. Ark, in order 
that no discredit should fall upon his friends. Our aristo* 
cratic columns, though they get a little cracked and defaced, 
are, after all, the pillars of the throne ; and it does not 
become us to let vulgar eyes look too closely into their 
unsoundness.” 

“ The individual who visited the Dart was the Rover 
himself.” 

‘ ‘ Ha ! the Red Rover in my ship — nay, in my very 
presence ! ” exclaimed the old tar, in honest horror. “You 
are now pleased, sir, to trifle with my good nature. ’ ’ 

“ I should forget a thousand obligations ere I could be so 
bold. On my solemn asseveration, sir, it was no other.” 

‘ ‘ This is unaccountable ! — extraordinary to a miracle ! 
His disguise was very complete, I will confess, to deceive 
one so well skilled in the human countenance. I saw 
nothing, sir, of his shaggy whiskers, heard nothing of his 
brutal voice, nor perceived any of those monstrous deform- 
ities which are universally acknowledged to distinguish the 
man.” 

“All of which are no more than the embellishments of 
vulgar rumor. I fear, sir, that the boldest and most danger- 
ous of all our vices are often found under the most pleasing 
exteriors.” 

“ But this is not even a man of inches, sir.” 

“His body is not large, but it contains the spirit of a 
giant.” 


420 


TOe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


“And do you believe yonder ship, Mr. Ark, to be the 
vessel that fought us in the equinox of March ? ” 

“I know it to be no other.” 

‘ ‘ Hark ye, Harry, for your sake I will deal generously 
by the rogue. He once escaped me by the loss of a top- 
mast, and stress of weather ; but we have here a good work- 
ing breeze that a man may safely count on, and a fine regular 
sea. He is therefore mine, so soon as I choose to make him 
so ; for, after all, I do not think he has any serious intention 
to run.” 

“I fear not,” returned Wilder, unconsciously betraying 
his wishes in the words. 

“ Fight he cannot, with any hopes of success ; and, as he 
seems to be altogether a different sort of personage from 
what I had supposed, we will try the merits of negotiation. 
Will you undertake to be the bearer of my proposition ? — 
or, perhaps, he might repent of his moderation.” 

“I pledge myself for his faith,” eagerly exclaimed Wil- 
der “ Tet a gun be fired to leeward. Mind, sir, all the 
tokens must be amicable — a flag of truce set at our main, 
and I will risk every hazard to lead him back into the 
bosom of society.” 

“ By George, it would at least be acting a Christian part,” 
returned the commander, after a moment’s thought ; “ and, 
though we miss knighthood below, lad, for our success, there 
will be better berths cleared for us aloft. ’ ’ 

No sooner had the warm-hearted, and perhaps a little 
visionary, captain of the Dart, and his lieutenant, deter- 
mined on this measure, than they both eagerly set about the 
means of insuring its success. The helm of the ship was 
put a-lee ; and, as her head came sweeping up into the 
wind, a sheet of flame flashed from her leeward bow-port, 
sending the customary amicable intimation across the water, 
that those who governed her movements would communi- 
cate with the possessors of the vessel in sight. At the 
same instant, a small flag, with a spotless field, was seen 
floating at the topmost elevation of all her spars, whilst the 
flag of England was lowered from the gaff. A half minute 
of deep inquietude succeeded these signals. Their suspense 


TLhc iReb iRover 


421 


was, however, speedily terminated. A cloud of smoke 
issued from the vessel of the Rover, and then the smoth- 
ered explosion of the answering gun came dull upon their 
ears. A flag, similar to their own, was seen floating, as it 
might be like a dove fanning its wings, far above her tops, 
but no emblem of any sort was borne at the spar where the 
colors which distinguish the national character of a cruiser 
are usually seen. 

‘ ‘ The fellow has the modesty to carry a naked gaff in 
our presence,” said Bignall, pointing out the circumstance 
to his companion, as an augury favorable to their success. 
“ We will stand for him until within a reasonable distance, 
and then you shall take to the boat.” 

In conformity with this determination, the Dart was 
brought on the other tack, and several sails were set to 
quicken her speed. When at the distance of half cannon- 
shot, Wilder suggested to his superior the propriety of 
arresting their further progress, in order to avoid the 
appearance of hostilities. The boat was immediately 
lowered into the sea, and manned ; a flag of truce set in 
her bows ; and the whole was reported ready to receive 
the bearer of the message. 

“ You may hand him this statement of our force, Mr. 
Ark ; for, as he is a reasonable man, he will see the advan- 
tage it gives us,” said the captain, after having exhausted 
his manifold and often repeated instructions. “ I think you 
may promise him indemnity for the past, provided he com- 
ply with all my conditions ; at all events, you will say that 
no influence shall be spared to get a complete white- washing 
for himself at least. God bless you, boy ! Take care to say 
nothing of the damages we received in the affair of March 
last ; for — ay — for the equinox was blowing heavy at the 
time, you know. Adieu ! and success attend you ! ” 

The boat shoved off from the side of the vessel as he 
ended, and in a few moments the listening Wilder was borne 
beyond the sound of further counsel. 

Our adventurer had sufficient time to reflect on the ex- 
traordinary situation in which he now found himself during 
the row to the still distant ship. Once or twice, slight and 


422 


Xfbe 1 Reb IRovct 


uneasy glimmerings of distrust, concerning the prudence of 
the step he was taking, beset him ; though a recollection of 
the lofty feeling of the man in whom he confided ever pre- 
sented itself in sufficient season to prevent the apprehen- 
sion from gaining any undue ascendency. Notwithstanding 
the delicacy of his situation, that characteristic interest in 
his profession which is rarely dormant in the bosom of a 
thoroughbred seaman was strongly stimulated as he ap- 
proached the vessel of the Rover. The perfect symmetry 
of her spars, the graceful heavings and settings of the 
whole fabric, as it rode, like a marine bird, on the long, 
regular swells of the trades, and the graceful inclinations 
of the tapering masts, as they waved across the blue can- 
opy, which was interlaced by all the tracery of her compli- 
cated tackle, was not lost on an eye that knew no less how 
to prize the order of the whole than to admire the beauty 
of the object itself. There is a high and exquisite taste, 
which the seaman attains in the study of a machine that 
all have united to commend, which may be likened to the 
sensibilities that the artist acquires, by close and long con- 
templation of the noblest monuments of antiquity. It 
teaches him to detect those imperfections which would 
escape a less instructed eye ; and it heightens the pleasure 
with which a ship at sea is gazed at, by enabling the mind 
to keep even pace with the enjoyment of the senses. It is 
this powerful (and to a landsman incomprehensible) charm 
that forms the secret tie which binds the mariner so closely 
to his vessel, and which often leads him to prize her quali- 
ties as one would esteem the virtues of a friend, and almost 
to be equally enamored of the fair proportions of his ship 
and of those of his mistress. Other men may have their 
different inanimate subjects of admiration ; but none of their 
feelings so thoroughly enter into the composition of the 
being as the affection which the mariner comes, in time, to 
feel for his vessel. It is his home, his theme of constant 
and frequently of painful interest, his tabernacle, and often 
his source of pride and exultation. As she gratifies or dis- 
appoints his high-wrought expectations, in her speed or in 
the fight, ’mid shoals and hurricanes, a character for good 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>er 


423 


or luckless qualities is earned, which are as often in reality 
due to the skill or ignorance of those who guide her, as to 
any inherent properties of the fabric. Still does the ship 
itself, in the eyes of the seaman, bear away the laurel of 
success, or suffer the ignominy of defeat and misfortune, 
and, when the reverse arrives, the result is merely regarded 
as same extraordinary departure from the ordinary charac- 
ter of the vessel, as if the construction possessed the powers 
of self-command and volition. 

Though not so deeply imbued with that superstitious cre- 
dulity on this subject of the inferiors of his profession, 
Wilder was keenly awake to most of the sensibilities of the 
mariner. So strongly, indeed, was he alive to this feeling 
on the present occasion, that for a moment he forgot the 
critical nature of his errand, and he drew within plainer view 
of a vessel that, with justice, might lay claim to be a jewel 
of the ocean. 

“Fay on your oars, lads,” he said, signing to his people 
to arrest the progress of the boat ; “lay on your oars ! Did 
you ever see masts more beautifully in line than those, 
Master Fid, or sails that had a fairer fit ? ” 

The top-man, who rowed the stroke-oar of the pinnace, 
cast a look over his shoulder, and stowing into one of his 
cheeks a lump that resembled a wad laid by the side of its 
gun, he was not slow to answer. 

“ I care not who knows it,” he said, “ for, done by honest 
men or done by knaves, I told the people on the forecastle 
of the Dart, in the first five minutes after I got among 
them again, that they might be at Spithead a month, and 
not see hamper so light, and yet so handy, as is seen aboard 
that flyer. Her lower rigging is harpened in, like the 
waist of Nell Dale, after she has had a fresh pull upon her 
stay -lanyards, and there isn’t a block among them all that 
seems bigger in its place than the eyes of the girl in her 
own good-looking countenance. The bit of a set that you 
see to her fore-brace-block was given by the hand of one 
Richard Fid ; and the heart on her mainstay was turned in 
by Guinea, here ; and, considering he is a nigger, I call it 
ship-shape. ’ ’ 


Ube IReb IRover 


424 


‘ ‘ She is beautiful in every part ! ’ ’ said Wilder, drawing 
a long breath. “ Give way, my men, give way ! Do you 
think I have come here to take the soundings of the ocean ? ’ ’ 

The crew started at the hurried tones of their lieutenant, 
and in another minute the boat was at the side of the ves- 
sel. The stern and threatening glances that Wilder encoun- 
tered, as his foot touched the planks, caused him to pause 
an instant ere he advanced further amid the crew ; but the 
presence of the Rover himself, who stood, with his peculiar 
air of high imposing authority, on the quarter-deck, encour- 
aged him to proceed, after permitting a delay that was too 
slight to attract attention. His lips were in the act of part- 
ing, when a sign from the other induced him to remain silent 
until they were both in the privacy of the cabin. 

“Suspicion is awake among my people, Mr. Ark,” com- 
menced the Rover, when they had retired, laying a marked 
emphasis on the name he used. “Suspicion is stirring, 
though, as yet, they hardly know what to credit. The 
manoeuvres of the two ships have not been such as they are 
wont to see, and voices are not wanting to whisper in their 
ears matter that is somewhat injurious to your interests. 
You have not done well, sir, in returning among us.” 

“ I came by the order of my superior, and under the 
sanction of a flag. ’ ’ 

“We are small reasoners in the legal distinctions of the 
world, and may mistake your rights in so novel a character ; 
but if you bear a message, I may presume it is intended for 
my ears ? ’ ’ 

“ For no other. We are not alone, Captain Heidegger.” 

“ Heed not the boy ; he is deaf at my will.” 

“ I could wish to communicate to you only, the offers that 
I bear. 

“That mast is not more senseless than Roderick,” said 
the other calmly, but with decision. 

“Then I must speak at every hazard. The commander 
of yonder ship, who bears the commission of our royal 
master, George the Second, has ordered me to say thus 
much for your consideration. On the condition that you 
will surrender this vessel, with her stores, armament, and 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


425 


warlike munitions, uninjured, he will content himself with 
taking ten hostages from your crew, to be decided by lot, 
yourself, and one other of your officers, and either to receive 
the remainder into the service of the king, or to suffer them 
to disperse in pursuit of a calling more creditable, and, as it 
would now appear, more safe.” 

“This is the liberality of a prince ! I should kneel and 
kiss the deck before one whose lips utter such sounds of 
mercy ! ” 

“ I repeat but the words of my superior,” Wilder resumed, 
coloring. “For yourself, he further promises, that his in- 
terest shall be exerted to procure a pardon, on condition that 
you quit the seas, and renounce the name of Englishman 
forever.” 

The latter is done to his hands ; but may I know the 
reason that such lenity is shown to one whose name has been 
so long proscribed by men ? ” 

‘ ‘ Captain Bignall has heard of your generous treatment 
of his officer, and the delicacy that the daughter and widow 
of two ancient brethren in arms have received at your hands. 
He confesses that rumor has not done entire justice to your 
character.” 

A mighty effort kept down the gleam of exultation that 
flashed across the features of the Rover, who, however, 
succeeded in continuing entirely calm and immovable. 

“He has been deceived, sir?” he resumed, as if to en- 
courage the other to proceed. 

‘ ‘ That much is he willing to acknowledge. A represen- 
tation of this common error to the proper authorities will 
have weight in procuring the promised amnesty for the past, 
and, as he hopes, brighter prospects for the future.” 

“And does he urge no other motive than his pleasure 
why I should make this violent change in all my habits, 
why I should renounce an element that has become as 
necessary to me as the one I breathe, and why, in particular, 
I am to disclaim the vaunted privilege of calling myself a 
Briton?” 

“ He does. This statement of a force, which you may 
freely examine with your own eyes, if so disposed, must 


426 


Ube IReb IRover 


convince you of the hopelessness of resistance, and will, he 
thinks, induce you to accept his offers. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ And what is your opinion ? ’ ’ the other demanded, with 
a peculiar emphasis, as he extended a hand to receive the 
written statement. “ But I beg pardon,” he hastily added, 
taking the look of gravity from the countenance of his 
companion ; “I trifle when the moment requires serious- 
ness.” 

The eye of the Rover ran rapidly over the paper, resting 
once or twice, with a slight exhibition of interest, on par- 
ticular points that seemed most to merit his attention. 

“You find the superiority such as I had already given 
you reason to believe? ” demanded Wilder, when the look 
of the other wandered from the paper. 

“I do.” 

‘ ‘ And may I now ask your decision on the offer ? ’ * 

“ First, tell me what does your own heart advise ? This 
is but the language of another.” 

“Captain Heidegger,” said Wilder, earnestly, “I will 
not attempt to conceal that, had this message depended solely 
on myself, it might have been couched in different terms ; 
but as one who still deeply retains the recollection of your 
generosity, as a man who would not willingly induce even 
an enemy to an act of dishonor, I urge their acceptance. 
You will excuse me, if I say, that, in our recent inter- 
course, I have had reason to believe you already realize 
that neither the character you could wish to earn, nor the 
content that all men crave, is to be found in your present 
career.” 

“ I had not thought I entertained so close a casuist in Mr. 
Henry Wilder. Have you more to urge, sir ? ” 

“ Nothing,” returned the disappointed and grieved mes- 
senger. 

“Yes, yes, he has,” said a low but eager voice at the 
elbow of the Rover, which rather seemed to breathe out the 
syllables than dare to utter them aloud ; “he has not yet 
delivered the half of his commission, or sadly has he for- 
gotten the sacred trust ! ’ ’ 

“This boy is often a dreamer,” interrupted the Rover, 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


427 


smiling with a wild and haggard look. “ He sometimes 
gives form to his unmeaning thoughts, by clothing them in 
words.” 

“ My thoughts are not unmeaning,” continued Roderick, 
in a louder and bolder strain. “ If his peace or happiness 
be dear to you, do not leave him. Tell him of his high 
and honorable name ; of his youth ; of that gentle and vir- 
tuous being that he once so fondly loved, and whose mem- 
ory, even now, he worships. Speak to him of these, as you 
know how to speak ; and, on my life, his ear will not be 
deaf, his heart cannot be callous, to your word.” 

“ The urchin is mad ! ” 

“I am not mad ; or if maddened, it is by the crimes, the 
dangers, of those I love. O ! Mr. Wilder, do not leave 
him. Since you have been among us, he is nearer to what 
I know he once was, than formerly. Take away that mis- 
taken statement of your force ; threats do but harden him. 
As a friend, admonish ; but hope for nothing as a minister 
of vengeance. You know not the fearful nature of the 
man, or you would not attempt to stop a torrent. Now — 
now speak to him ; for his eye is already growing kinder.” 

“ It is in pity, boy, at witnessing how thy reason wavers.” 

“ Had it never swerved more than at this moment, Wal- 
ter, another need not be called upon to speak between thee 
and me ! My words would then have been regarded, my 
voice would then have been loud enough to be heard. Why 
are you dumb? a single happy syllable might now save 
him.” 

“ Wilder, the child is frightened by this counting of guns 
and numbering of people. He fears the anger of your 
anointed master. Go ; give him a place in your boat, and 
recommend him to the mercy of your superior. ’ ’ 

“Away, away !” cried Roderick, “I shall not, will not, 
cannot leave you. Who is there left for me in this world 
but you ? ’ * 

“Yes,” continued the Rover, whose forced calmness of 
expression changed to one of melancholy musing ; “it will 
indeed be better that he should go. See, here is much 
gold ; you will commend him to the care of that admirable 


428 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


woman wlio already watches one scarcely less helpless, 
though possibly less — ” 

“ Guilty ! speak the word boldly, Walter. I have earned 
the epithet, and shall not shrink to hear it spoken. Look,” 
he said, taking the ponderous bag, which had been extended 
towards Wilder, and holding it above his head, in scorn, 
‘ ‘ this can I cast from me ; but the tie which binds me to 
thee shall never be broken.” 

As he spoke, the lad approached an open window of the 
cabin ; a plash upon the water was heard, and then a 
treasure that might have furnished a competence to moder- 
ate wishes, was lost forever to the uses of man. The lieu- 
tenant of the Dart turned in haste to deprecate the anger 
of the Rover ; but he could trace, in the features of the 
lawless chief, no other emotion than a pity which was dis- 
coverable even through his unmoved smile. 

‘ ‘ Roderick would make but a faithless treasurer, * ’ he 
said. “ Still, it is not too late to restore him to his friends. 
The loss of the gold can be repaired ; but, should any seri- 
ous calamity befall the boy, I might never regain a perfect 
peace of mind.” 

“Then keep him near yourself,” murmured the lad, 
whose vehemence seemingly had expended itself. “ Go, 
Mr. Wilder, your boat is waiting ; a longer stay will be 
without an object.” 

“ I fear it will ! ” returned our adventurer, who had not 
ceased, during the previous dialogue, to keep his look fas- 
tened, in manly commiseration, on the countenance of the 
boy ; “ I greatly fear it will ! Since I have come the mes- 
senger of another, Captain Heidegger, it is your province 
to supply the answer to my proposition.” 

The Rover took him by the arm, and led him to a position 
whence they might look upon the outer scene. Pointing 
upward at his spars, and making his companion observe the 
small quantity of sail he carried, he simply said, “ Sir, you 
are a seaman, and may judge of my intentions by this. I 
shall neither seek nor avoid your boasted cruiser.” 



CHAPTER XXX. 

“ Front to front, 

Bring thou this fiend — 

Within my sword’s length set him ; if he ’scape, 

Heaven forgive h im too ! ” 

Macbeth. 

Y OU have brought the grateful submission of the 
pirate ! ’ ’ exclaimed the sanguine commander 
of the Dart, as the foot of his messenger touched 
his deck. 

“ I bring nothing but defiance ! ” 

“Did you exhibit my statement? Surely, Mr. Ark, so 
material a document was not forgotten? ” 

“ Nothing was forgotten that the warmest interest in his 
safety could suggest, Captain Bignall. Still, he refuses to 
hearken to your conditions.” 

“ Perhaps, sir, he imagines that we are defective in some 
of our spars? He may hope to escape by pressing the 
canvas on his own light-heeled ship ? ’ ’ 

“ Does that look like flight? ” demanded Wilder, extend- 
ing an arm towards the nearly naked spars and motionless 
hull of their neighbor. ‘ ‘ The utmost I can obtain is an as- 
surance that he will not be the assailant.” 

“ ’Fore George, he is a merciful youth ! and one that 
should be commended for moderation ! He will not run his 
disorderly, picarooning company under the guns of a British 
man-of-war, because he owes a little reverence to the flag of 
his master ! Hark ye, Mr. Ark, we shall remember the cir- 
cumstance when questioned at the Old Bailey. Send the 
people to their guns, sir, and wear the ship round, to put an 


43 ° 


Uhe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


end at once to this foolery, or we shall have him sending a 
boat aboard to examine our commissions.” 

“Captain Bignall,” said Wilder, leading his commander 
still further from the ears of their inferiors, “ I may lay some 
little claim to merit for services done under your own eyes, 
and in obedience to your orders. If my former conduct gives 
me any title to presume to counsel one of your great experi- 
ence, suffer me to urge a short delay.” 

‘ ‘ Delay ! Does Henry Ark hesitate, when the enemies 
of his king, nay more, the enemies of man, are daring him 
to his duty ? ” 

“ Sir, you mistake me. I hesitate, in order that the flag 
under which we sail may be free from stain, and not with 
any intent of avoiding the combat. Our enemy, my enemy, 
knows that he has nothing now to expect for his past gener- 
osity, but kindness, should he become our captive. Still, 
Captain Bignall, I ask for time, to prepare the Dart for a 
conflict that will try all her powers, and to insure a victory 
that will not be bought without a price. ’ ’ 

“But, should he escape — ” 

‘ ‘ On my life, he will not attempt it. I not only know th^ 
man, but his formidable means of resistance. A half hour 
will put us in the necessary condition, and do no discredit 
either to our spirit or to our prudence.” 

The veteran yielded a reluctant consent, which was not, 
however, accorded without much muttering concerning the 
disgrace a British man-of-war incurred in not running along- 
side the boldest pirate that floated, and blowing him out of 
water with a single match. Wilder, who was accustomed 
to the honest professional bravadoes that often formed a pe- 
culiar embellishment to the really firm and manly resolution 
of the seamen of that age, permitted him to complain at will, 
while he busied himself in a manner that he knew was now 
of the last importance, and to a duty that properly came 
under his more immediate inspection. 

The order for “ all hands to clear ship for action” was 
again given, and received in the cheerful temper with which 
mariners are wont to welcome any of the more important 
changes of their exciting profession. Tittle remained, how- 


Ube IRefc IRover 


431 


ever, to be done ; for most of the previous preparations had 
still been left, as at the original meeting of the two vessels. 
Then came the beat to quarters, and the more serious and 
fearful-looking preparations for certain combat. After these 
arrangements were completed, the crew at their guns, the 
sail-trimmers at the braces, and the officers in their several 
batteries, the after-yards were swung, and the ship was once 
more put in motion. 

During this brief interval, the vessel of the Rover lay, at 
the distance of half a mile, in a state of entire rest, without 
betraying the smallest interest in the obvious movements of 
her hostile neighbor. When, however, the Dart was seen 
yielding to the breeze, and gradually increasing her velocity, 
until the water was gathering under her fore-foot in a little 
rolling wave of foam, the bows of the other fell off from 
the direction of the wind, the top-sail was filled, and, in her 
turn, the hull was held in command by giving to it the im- 
petus of motion. The Dart now set again at her gaff that 
broad field which had been lowered during the conference, 
and which had floated in triumph through the hazards and 
struggles of a thousand combats. No answering emblem, 
however, was exhibited from the peak of her adversary. 

In this manner the two ships “gathered way,” as it is 
expressed in nautical language, watching each other with 
eyes as jealous as if they had been rival monsters of the great 
deep, each endeavoring to conceal from his antagonist the 
evolution he contemplated next. The earnest manner of 
Wilder had not failed to produce its influence on the straight- 
minded seaman who commanded the Dart, and, by this time, 
he was as much disposed as his lieutenant to approach the 
conflict leisurely, and with proper caution. 

The day had hitherto been cloudless, and a vault of purer 
blue never canopied a waste of water, than the arch which 
had stretched for hours above the heads of our marine adven- 
turers. But, as if nature frowned on their present bloody 
designs, a dark, threatening mass of vapor was blending the 
ocean with the sky, in a direction opposed to the currents of 
the air. These well-known and ominous signs did not escape 
the vigilance of those who manned the hostile ships, but the 


432 


Ube IReb IRover 


danger was deemed too remote to interrupt the higher inter- 
est of the approaching combat. 

“We have a squall brewing in the west,” said the expe- 
rienced and wary Bignall, pointing to the frowning symptoms 
as he spoke ; ‘ ‘ but we can handle the pirate, and get all 
snug again, before it works its way up against this breeze.” 

Wilder assented ; for, by this time, professional pride was 
swelling in his bosom also, and a generous rivalry was get- 
ting the mastery of feelings that were possibly foreign to his 
duty, however natural they might have been in one as open 
to kindness as himself. 

“ The Rover is even sending down all his lighter masts ! ” 
exclaimed the youth ; “ it would seem that he distrusts the 
weather.” 

“ We will not follow his example , for he will wish they 
were aloft again, the moment we get him fairly under the 
play of our batteries. By George our King, but he has a 
pretty moving boat under him! Tet fall the main-course, 
sir ; down with it, or we shall have it night before we get the 
rogue a-beam.” 

The order was obeyed ; when the Dart, feeling the power' 
ful impulse, quickened her speed, like an animated being 
that is freshly impelled by its apprehensions or its wishes. 
By this time, she had gained a position on the weather- 
quarter of her adversary, who had not manifested the smallest 
desire to prevent her attaining so material an advantage. 
On the contrary, while the Dolphin kept the same canvas 
spread, she continued to lighten her top-hamper, bringing 
as much of the weight as possible from the towering height 
of her tall masts, within the greater security of the hull. Still, 
the distance between them was too great, in the opinion of Big- 
nall, to commence the contest, while the facility with which 
his adversary moved ahead threatened to protract the impor- 
tant moment to an unreasonable extent, or to reduce him to a 
crowd of sail that might prove embarrassing, while enveloped 
in the smoke, and pressed by the urgencies of the combat. 

“We will touch his pride, sir, since you think him a man 
of spirit,” said the veteran. “ Give him a weather-gun, and 
show him another of his master’s ensigns.” 


Ufoe iRefc IRover 


433 


The roar of the piece, and the display of three more of the 
fields of England, in quick succession, from different parts 
of the Dart, failed to produce the slightest evidence even 
of observation aboard their seemingly insensible neighbor. 
The Dolphin still kept on her way, occasionally swooping 
up to touch the wind, and then deviating from her course 
again to leeward, as the porpoise is seen to turn aside from 
his direction to snuff the breeze, while he lazily sports along 
his briny path. 

He will not be moved by any of the devices of lawful 
and ordinary warfare,” said Wilder, when he witnessed 
the indifference with which their challenge had been re- 
ceived. 

“ Try him with a shot.” 

A gun was now discharged from the side next the still 
receding Dolphin. The iron messenger was seen bounding 
along the surface of the sea, skipping lightly from wave to 
wave, until it cast a little cloud of spray upon the deck of 
their enemy, as it boomed harmlessly past her hull. Another, 
and yet another, followed, without in any manner extracting 
signal or notice from the Rover. 

“How’s this?” exclaimed the disappointed Bignall. 
“ Has he a charm for his ship, that all our shot sweep over 
him in rain ! Master Fid, can you do nothing for the credit 
of honest people and the honor of a pennant ? Let us hear 
from your old favorite ; in times past, she used to speak to 
better purpose. ’ ’ 

‘ ‘ Ay, ay, sir, ’ ’ returned the accommodating Richard, who, 
in the sudden turns of his fortune, found himself in authority 
over a much-loved and long-cherished piece. ‘ 1 I christened 
the gun after Mistress Whiffle, your honor, for the same 
reason, that they both can do their own talking. Now, stand 
aside, my lads, and let clattering Kate have a word in the 
discourse. ’ ’ 

Richard, who had coolly taken his sight while speaking, 
deliberately applied the match with his own hand, and, with 
a philosophy that was sufficiently to be commended in a 
mercenary, sent what he boldly pronounced to be a “ thor- 
ough straight-goer ’ ’ in the direction of his recent associates. 

28 


434 


Ufoe IRefc IRover 


The usual moments of suspense succeeded, and then the torn 
fragments which were scattered in the air announced that 
the shot had passed through the nettings of *he Dolphin. 
The effect on the vessel of the Rover was nearly magical. 
A long stripe of cream-colored canvas, which had been art- 
fully extended from stem to stern, in a line with her guns, 
disappeared as suddenly as a bird would shut its wings, leav- 
ing in its place a broad, blood-red belt, that was bristling 
with the armament of the ship. At the same time, an ensign, 
of a similar ominous color, rose from her poop, and, flutter- 
ing darkly and fiercely for a moment, it became fixed at the 
end of the gaff. 

“ Now I know him for the knave that he is ! ” cried the 
excited Bignall ; “ and see ! he has thrown away his false 
paint, and shows the well-known bloody side from which he 
gets his name. Stand to your guns, my men ! the pirate is 
getting to be in earnest.” 

He was still speaking, when a sheet of bright flame glanced 
from out that streak of red which was so well adapted to 
work upon the superstitious aw r e of the common mariners, 
and was followed by the simultaneous explosion of a dozen 
wide-mouthed pieces of artillery. The startling change from 
inattention and indifference to this act of bold and decided 
hostility produced a strong effect on the boldest heart on 
board the king’s cruiser. The momentary interval of sus- 
pense was passed in unchanged attitudes and looks of breath- 
less attention ; and then the rushing of the iron storm was 
heard hurtling through the air, as it came fearfully on. The 
crash that followed, mingled as it was with human groans, 
and succeeded by the tearing of riven plank, and the scatter- 
ing of splinters, ropes, blocks, and the implements of war, 
proclaimed the fatal accuracy of the broadside. But the 
surprise and the brief confusion endured but for an instant. 
The English shouted, sending back a return to the deadly 
assault they had just received, recovering manfully and 
promptly from the shock it had assuredly given. 

The ordinary and more regular cannonading of a naval 
combat succeeded. Anxious to precipitate the issue, both 
ships pressed nigher to each other the while, until in a few 


Ube IReb IRover 


435 


moments the two white canopies of smoke that were wreath- 
ing about their respective masts were blended in one, mark- 
ing a solitary spot of strife, in the midst of a scene of broad 
and bright tranquillity. The discharges of the cannon were 
hot, close, and incessant. While the hostile parties, how- 
ever, closely imitated each other in their zeal in dealing out 
destruction, a peculiar difference marked the distinction in 
character of the two crews. Loud, cheering shouts accom- 
panied each discharge from the lawful cruiser, while the 
people of the Rover did their murderous work in the silence 
of desperation. 

The spirit and uproar of the scene soon quickened that 
blood in the veins of the veteran Bignall which had begun 
to circulate a little slowly by time. 

“ The fellow has not forgotten his art ! ” he exclaimed, as 
the effects of his enemy’s skill were getting to be but too 
manifest in the rent sails, shivered spars, and tottering masts 
of his own ship. ‘ ‘ Had he but the commission of the king 
in his pocket, one might call him a hero ! ’ ’ 

The emergency was too urgent to throw away the time 
in words. Wilder answered only by cheering his own people 
to their fierce and laborious task. The ships had now fallen 
off before the wind, and were running parallel to each other, 
emitting sheets of flame that were incessantly glancing 
through immense volumes of smoke. The spars of the respec- 
tive vessels were alone visible, at brief and uncertain inter- 
vals. Many minutes had thus passed, seeming to those 
engaged but a moment of time, when the mariners of the Dart 
found that they no longer held their vessel in the quick com- 
mand, so necessary to their situation. The important cir- 
cumstance was instantly conveyed from the master to Wilder, 
and from Wilder to his superior. A hasty consultation on 
the cause and consequences of this unexpected event was the 
immediate and natural result. 

“See!” cried Wilder, “the sails are already hanging 
against the masts like rags ; the explosions of the artillery 
have stilled the wind.” 

“ Hark ! ” answered the more experienced Bignall ; “ there 
goes the artillery of Heaven among our own guns. The 


43 6 


Ube IReb 1 Rover 


squall is already upon us — port the helm, sir, and sheer the 
ship out of the smoke ! Hard a-port with the helm, sir, at 
once ! hard with it a-port, I say ! ’ ’ 

But the lazy motion of the vessel did not answer to the im- 
patience of those who directed her movements, nor did it meet 
the pressing exigencies of the moment. In the meantime, 
while Bignall and the officers whose duties kept them near 
his person, assisted by the sail-trimmers, were thus occupied, 
the people in the batteries continued their murderous 
employment. The roar of cannon was incessant, and 
nearly overwhelming, though there were instants when the 
ominous mutterings of the atmosphere were too distinctly 
audible to be mistaken. Still the eye could lend no assist- 
ance to the hearing, in determining the judgment of the 
mariners. Hulls, spars, and sails were alike enveloped in 
the curling wreaths which wrapped heaven, air, vessels, and 
ocean, alike, in one white, obscure, foggy mantle. Even 
the persons of the crew were merely seen at instants labor- 
ing at the guns, through brief and varying openings. 

“ I never knew the smoke pack so heavy on the deck of 
a ship before,” said Bignall, with a concern that even his 
caution could not entirely repress. “ Keep the helm a-port 
—jam it hard, sir ! By Heaven, Mr. Wilder, those knaves 
well know they are struggling for their lives ! ’ ’ 

“ The fight is all our own ! ” shouted the second lieuten- 
ant, from among the guns, staunching, as he spoke, the 
blood of a severe splinter-wound in the face, and far too 
intent on his own immediate occupation to notice the signs 
of the weather. “He has not answered with a single gun, 
for near a minute.” 

“ ’Fore George, the rogues have enough ! ” exclaimed the 
delighted Bignall. ‘ ‘ Three cheers for vie — ’ ’ 

“ Hold, sir ! ” interrupted Wilder, with sufficient decision 
to check his commander’s premature exultation ; “on my 
life, our work is not so soon ended. I think, indeed, his 
guns are silent ; but see ! the smoke is beginning to lift. In 
a few more minutes, if our own fire should cease, the view 
will be clear.” 

A shout from the men in the batteries interrupted his words; 


ftbe iReb lRo\>er 


437 


and then came a general cry that the pirates were sheering 
off. The exultation at this fancied evidence of their super- 
iority was, however, soon and fearfully interrupted. A 
bright vivid flash penetrated through the dense vapor 
which still hung about them in a most extraordinary man- 
ner, and was followed by a crash from the heavens, to 
which the simultaneous explosion of fifty pieces of artillery 
would have sounded feeble. 

“ Call the people from their guns ! ” said Bignall, in those 
suppressed tones that are only more portentous from their 
forced and unnatural calmness : “ call them away at once, 
sir, and get the canvas in ! ” 

Wilder, startled more at the proximity and apparent 
weight of the squall than at words to which he had long 
been accustomed, delayed not to give an order that was so 
urgent. The men left their batteries, like athletes retir- 
ing from the arena, some bleeding and faint, some fierce and 
angry, and all more or less excited by the furious scene in 
which they had just been actors. Many sprang to the well- 
known ropes, while others, as they ascended into the cloud 
which still hung on the vessel, became lost to the eye in her 
rigging. 

“Shall I reef, or furl? ” demanded Wilder, standing with 
the trumpet at his lips, ready to issue the necessary order. 

“ Hold, sir ; another minute will give us an opening.” 

The lieutenant paused ; for he was not slow to see that 
now, indeed, the veil was about to be drawn from their real 
situation. The smoke, which had lain upon their very 
decks, pressed down by the superincumbent weight of the 
atmosphere, first began to stir; was then seen eddying 
among the masts ; and, finally, whirled wildly away before 
a strong current of air. The view was, indeed, now all 
before them. 

In place of the glorious sun, and that bright, blue canopy 
which had lain above them a short half-hour before, the 
heavens were clothed in one immense black veil. The sea 
reflected the portentous color, looking dark and angrily, the 
waves had already lost their regular rise and fall, and were 
tossing to and fro, awaiting the power that was to give them 


43 8 


XTbe IRefc IRcwer 


direction and force. The flashes from the heavens were not 
in quick succession ; but the few that did break upon the 
gloominess of the scene, came in majesty and with daz- 
zling brightness. They were accompanied by the terrific 
thunder of the tropics, in which it is scarcely profanation to 
fancy that the voice of One who made the universe is actu- 
ally speaking to the creatures of His hand. On every side 
was the appearance of a fierce and dangerous struggle in 
the elements. The vessel of the Rover was running lightly 
before the breeze, which had already come fresh and fitful 
from the cloud, with her sails reduced, and her people coolly, 
but actively employed in repairing the damages of the 
fight. 

Not a moment was to be lost in imitating the example of 
the wary freebooters. The head of the Dart was hastily, 
and happily, got in a direction contrary to the breeze ; and 
as she began to follow the course taken by the Dolphin, an 
attempt was made to gather her torn, and nearly useless 
canvas to the yards. But precious minutes had been lost in 
the smoky canopy, that might never be regained. The sea 
changed its color from a dark green to a glittering white ; 
and then the fury of the gust was heard rushing fearfully 
along the water, and with a violence that could not be re- 
sisted. 

“Be lively, men !” shouted Bignall himself, in the exi- 
gency in which his vessel was placed ; “ roll up the cloth ; 
in with it all — leave not a rag to the squall ! ’Fore George, 
Mr. Wilder, but this wind is not playing with us ; cheer 
the men to their work ; speak to them cheerily, sir ! ’ ’ 

“Furl away!” shouted Wilder. “Cut, if too late; 
work away with knives and teeth — down, every man of you, 
down for your lives, all ! ” 

There was an energy in the voice of the lieutenant which 
sounded supernatural in the ears of his people. He had so 
recently witnessed a calamity similar to that which again 
threatened him, that his feelings lent horror to the tones. 
A score of forms descended swiftly through an atmosphere 
that appeared sensible to the touch. Nor was their escape, 
which might be likened to the stooping of birds that dart 


Ube IReb 1Rov>er 


439 


into their nest, too earnestly pressed. Stripped of its rig- 
ging, and already tottering under numerous wounds, the 
lofty and overloaded spars yielded to the mighty force of the 
squall, tumbling in succession towards the hull, until noth- 
ing stood but the three firmer, but shorn, and nearly useless 
lower masts. By far the greater number of those aloft 
reached the deck in time to insure their safety, though some 
there were too stubborn, and still too much under the sullen 
influence of the combat, to hearken to the words of warning. 
These victims of their own obstinacy were seen clinging to 
the broken fragments of the spars, as the Dart, in a cloud 
of foam, drove away from the spot where they floated, until 
their persons and their misery were alike swallowed in the 
distance. 

“ It is the hand of God ! ” hoarsely exclaimed the veteran 
Bignall, while his eye drank in the destruction of the wreck. 
“ Mark me, Henry Ark ; I will forever testify that the guns 
of the pirate have not brought us to this condition.” 

Tittle disposed to seek the same miserable consolation as 
his commander, Wilder exerted himself in counteracting, as 
far as circumstances would allow, an injury that he felt, 
however, at that moment to be irreparable. Amid the 
howling of the gust, and the fearful crashing of the thunder, 
with an atmosphere now lurid with the glare of lightning, 
and now nearly obscured by the dark canopy of vapor, and 
with all the frightful evidences of the fight still reeking and 
ghastly before their eyes, did the men of the British cruiser 
prove true to themselves and to their ancient reputation. 
The voices of Bignall and his subordinates were heard in 
the tempest, uttering those mandates which long experience 
had rendered familiar, or encouraging their people to their 
duty. Happily the strife of the elements was of short con- 
tinuance. The squall soon swept over the spot, leaving the 
currents of the trade returning into their former channels, 
and a sea that was rather stilled than agitated, by the 
counteracting influence of the wind. 

But, as one danger passed away from before the eyes of 
the mariners of the Dart, another, scarcely less to be appre- 
hended, forced itself upon their attention. All recollection 


440 


TTbe 1 Reb IRover 


of the favors of the past, and every feeling of gratitude, was 
banished from the mind of Wilder by the mountings of pro- 
fessional pride, and that love of glory which becomes inher- 
ent in the warrior, as he gazed on the untouched and 
beautiful symmetry of the Dolphin’s spars, and all the per- 
fect and unharmed order of her tackle. It seemed as if she 
bore a charmed fate, or that some supernatural agency had 
been instrumental in preserving her amid the violence of a 
second hurricane. But cooler thought, and more impartial 
reflection, compelled the internal acknowledgment, that the 
vigilance and wise precautions of the remarkable individual 
who appeared not only to govern her movements, but to 
control her fortunes, had their proper influence in producing 
the result. 

Little leisure, however, was allowed to ruminate on these 
changes, or to deprecate the advantage of their enemy. 
The vessel of the Rover had already opened many broad 
sheets of canvas ; and, as the return of the regular breeze 
gave her the wind, her approach was rapid and unavoid- 
able. 

“ ’Fore George, Mr. Ark, luck is all on the dishonest 
side to-day,” said the veteran, when he perceived, by the 
direction which the Dolphin took, that the encounter was 
likely to be renewed. “Send the people to quarters again, 
and clear away the guns ; we are likely to have another 
bout with the rogues.” 

“I would advise a moment’s delay,” Wilder earnestly 
observed, when he heard his commander issuing an order 
to his people to prepare to deliver their fire, the instant 
their enemy should come within a favorable position. “ Let 
me entreat you to delay ; we know not what may be his 
present intentions. ’ ’ 

“None shall put foot on the deck of the Dart, without 
submitting to the authority of her royal master,” returned 
the stern old tar. “ Give it to him, my men ! Scatter the 
rogues from their guns ! Let them know the danger of 
approaching a lion, though he should be crippled ! ” 

Wilder saw that remonstrance was too late ; for a fresh 
broadside was hurled from the Dart, to defeat any generous 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


441 


intentions that the Rover might entertain. The ship of the 
latter received the iron storm while advancing, and immedi- 
ately deviated from her course, in such a way as to prevent 
its repetition. Then she was seen sweeping towards the 
bows of the nearly helpless cruiser of the king, and a hoarse 
summons was heard ordering her ensign to be lowered. 

“Come on, ye villains ! ” shouted the excited Bignall. 
“ Come, and perform the office with your own hands ! ” 

The graceful ship, as if sensible herself to the taunts of 
her enemy, sprang nigher to the wind, and shooting across 
the fore-foot of the Dart, delivered her fire, gun after gun, 
with deliberate and deadly accuracy, full into that defence- 
less portion of her antagonist. A crush like that of meet- 
ing bodies followed, when fifty grim visages were seen 
entering the scene of carnage, armed w T ith the deadly 
weapons of personal conflict. The shock of so close and so 
fatal a discharge had, for the moment, paralyzed the efforts 
of the assailed ; but no sooner did Bignall and his lieu- 
tenant see the dark forms that issued from the smoke on 
their own decks, than, with voices that had not even lost 
their authority, each summoned a band of followers, backed 
by whom they bravely dashed into opposite gangways of 
their ships, to stay the torrent. The first encounter was 
fierce and fatal, both parties receding a little, to wait for 
succor and recover breath. 

“ Come on, ye murderous thieves ! ” cried the dauntless 
veteran, who stood foremost in his own band, conspicuous 
by the gray locks that floated around his naked head, “ well 
do ye know that Heaven is with the right ! ’ ’ 

The grim freebooters in his front recoiled and opened ; 
then came a sheet of flame, from the side of the Dolphin, 
through an empty port of her adversary, bearing in its 
centre a hundred deadly missiles. The sword of Bignall 
was flourished furiously and wildly above his head, and his 
voice was still heard shouting, till utterance failed him, 

“ Come on, ye knaves ! come on ! ” he cried. “ Harry— 
Harry Ark ! O God !— Hurrah ! ” 

He fell like a log, and died the unwitting owner of that 
very commission for which he had toiled throughout a life 


442 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


of hardship and danger. Until now, Wilder had made good 
his quarter of the deck, though pressed by a band as fierce 
and daring as his own ; but at this fearful crisis in the com- 
bat a voice was heard in the m&lee that thrilled on all his 
own nerves, seeming even to carry its fearful influence over 
the minds of his men. 

“Make way there, make way!” it said, in tones clear, 
deep, and breathing with authority, “ make way, and fol- 
low ; no hand but mine shall lower that vaunting flag ! ” 

“Stand to your faith, my men!” shouted Wilder in 
reply. Shouts, oaths, imprecations, and groans, formed a 
fearful accompaniment of the rude encounter, which was, 
however, too violent to continue long. Wilder saw, with 
agony, that numbers and impetuosity were sweeping his 
supporters from around him. Again and again he called 
them to the succor with his voice, or stimulated them to 
daring by his example. 

Friend after friend fell at his feet, until he was driven to 
the utmost extremity of the deck. Here he again rallied a 
little band, against which several furious charges were made 
in vain. 

“ Ha ! ” exclaimed a voice he well knew ; “ death to all 
traitors ! Spit the spy as you would a dog ! Charge 
through them, my bullies ; a halbert to the hero who shall 
reach his heart.” 

“Avast, ye lubbers!” returned the staunch Richard. 
“ Here are a white man and aMgger at your service, if 
you ’ve need of a spit.” 

“Two more of the gang ! ” continued the general, aiming 
a blow that threatened to immolate the top-man, as he spoke. 

A dark, half-naked form was interposed to receive the 
descending blade, which fell on the staff of a half-pike, 
severing it as if it were a reed. Nothing daunted by the 
defenceless state in which he found himself, Scipio made his 
way to the front of Wilder, where, with a body divested to 
the waist of every garment, and empty-handed, he fought 
with his brawny arms, like one who despised the cuts, 
thrusts, and assaults, of which his athletic frame became the 
helpless object. 


Ube IReb 1Ro\>etr 


443 


‘‘Give it to ’em, right and left, Guinea,” cried Fid; 
“ here is one who will come in as a backer, as soon as he 
has stopped the grog of the marine.” 

The parries and science of the unfortunate general were 
at this moment set at nought by a blow from Richard, 
which broke down all his defences, descending through cap 
and skull to the jaw. 

‘‘Hold, murderers ! ” cried Wilder, who saw the number- 
less blows that were falling on the defenceless body of the 
still undaunted black. “ Strike here ! but spare an unarmed 
man ! ’ ’ 

The sight of our adventurer became confused, for he saw 
thepjegro fall, dragging with him to the deck two of his 
assailants ; and then a voice, deep as the emotion which 
such a scene might create, uttered in the very portals of his 
ear, — 

“ Our work is done ! He that strikes another blow makes 
an enemy of me.” 




CHAPTER XXXI. 

“ Take him hence ! 

The whole world shall not save him.” 

Cymbeline. 

T HE recent gust had not passed more fearfully and 
suddenly over the ship than the scene just related ; 
but the smiling aspect of the tranquil sky, and the 
bright sun of a Carribbean sea, found no parallel 
in the horrors that succeeded the combat. The momentary 
confusion which accompanied the fall of Scipio soon disap- 
peared, and Wilder was left to gaze on the wreck of all the 
boasted powers of his cruiser, and on that waste of human 
life which had been the attendants of the struggle. The 
former has already been sufficiently described ; but a short 
account of the present state of the actors may serve to eluci- 
date the events that are to follow. 

Within a few yards of the place he was permitted to 
occupy himself, stood the motionless form of the Rover. A 
second glance was necessary, however, to recognize, in the 
grim visage to which the boarding-cap already mentioned 
lent a look of artificial ferocity, the usually bland counte- 
nance of the man. As the eye of Wilder roamed over the 
swelling, erect, and triumphant figure, it was difficult not to 
fancy that even the stature had been suddenly and unac- 
countably increased. One hand rested on the hilt of a yat- 
aghan, which, by the crimson drops that flowed along its 
curved blade, had evidently done fatal service in the fray ; 
and one foot was placed, seemingly with supernatural 
weight, on that national emblem which it had been his pride 
to lower. His eye was wandering sternly, but understand- 
ing^, over the scene, though he spoke not, nor in any other 

444 


Ube IReb 1Rov>er 


445 


manner betrayed the deep interest he felt in the past. At 
his side, and nearly within the circle of his arm, stood the 
cowering form of the boy Roderick, unprovided with 
weapon, his garments sprinkled with blood, his eye con- 
tracted, wild, and fearful, and his face pallid as those in 
whom the tide of life had just ceased to circulate. 

Here and there were to be seen the wounded captives, still 
sullen and unconquered in spirit, while many of their less 
fortunate enemies lay in their blood, around the deck, with 
such gleamings of ferocity on their countenances as plainly 
denoted that the current of their meditations was still run- 
ning on vengeance. The uninjured and the slightly wounded 
of both bands, were already pursuing their different objects 
of plunder or of secretion. 

But so thorough was the discipline established by the 
leader of the freebooters, so absolute his power, that a blow 
had not been struck, or blood drawn, since the moment his 
prohibitory mandate was heard. There had been enough of 
destruction, however, to satisfy the most gluttonous longings, 
had human life been the sole object of the assault. Wilder 
felt many a pang, as the marble-like features of some humble 
friend or faithful servitor came, one after another, under his 
recognition ; but the shock was the greatest when his eye 
fell upon the rigid and still frowning countenance of his 
veteran commander. 

“ Captain Heidegger,” he said, struggling to maintain the 
fortitude which became the moment ; “the fortune of the 
day is yours ; I ask mercy and kindness for the survivors.” 

“ They shall be granted to those who, of right, may claim 
them ; I hope it may be found that all are included in this 
promise. ’ ’ 

The voice of the Rover was solemn and full of meaning : 
it appeared to convey more than the simple import of the 
words. Wilder might have mused long and vainly, how- 
ever, on the equivocal manner in which he had been an- 
swered, had not the approach of a body of the hostile crew, 
among whom he instantly recognized the most prominent 
of the late mutineers of the Dolphin, speedily supplied a clue 
to the hidden meaning of their leader. 


446 


Ube IReb IRcwer 


“We claim the execution of our ancient laws!” com- 
menced the foremost of the gang, addressing his chief with 
a brevity and fierceness which the late combat might have 
generated, if not excused. 

“ What would you have ? ” 

“ The lives of traitors ! ” was the sullen answer. 

“You know the conditions of our service. If any such are 
in our powder, let them meet their fate.” 

Had any doubt remained in the mind of Wilder as to the 
meaning of the.se terrible claimants of justice, it would have 
vanished at the manner with which he and his two compan- 
ions were immediately dragged before the lawless chief. 
Though the love of life was strong and active in his breast, 
it was not, even in that fearful moment, exhibited in a depre- 
cating or unmanly form. Not for an instant did his mind 
waver, or his thoughts wander to any subterfuge that 
might prove unworthy of his profession, or of his former 
character. One anxious, inquiring look was fastened on the 
eye of him whose power alone could save him. He wit- 
nessed the short, severe struggle that softened the rigid 
muscles of the Rover’s countenance ; and then he saw the 
instant, cold, and calm composure which settled on every 
one of its disciplined lineaments. He knew at once that 
the feelings of the man were smothered in the duty of the 
chief, and more was unnecessary to teach him the hopeless- 
ness of his condition. Scorning to render his state degrading 
by useless remonstrances, the youth remained where his 
accusers had seen fit to place him — firm, motionless, and 
silent. 

“ What would ye have?” the Rover at length asked, in 
a voice that even his iron nerves scarce rendered deep and 
full-toned as common. “ What ask ye ? ” 

“ Their lives ! ” 

“ I understand you : go ; they are at your mercy.” 

Notwithstanding the horrors of the scene through which 
he had just passed, and that high excitement which had 
sustained him through the fight, the deliberate, solemn tones 
with which his judge delivered a sentence that he knew con- 
signed him to a hasty §ind ignominious death, shook the 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


447 


frame of our adventurer nearly to insensibility. The blood 
recoiled backward to his heart, and the sickening sensation 
that beset his brain threatened to upset his reason. But the 
shock passed, on the instant, leaving him erect, and seem- 
ingly firm as ever, and certainly with no evidence of mortal 
weakness that human eye could discover. 

“ For myself, nothing is demanded,” he said, with admi- 
rable steadiness. ‘ ‘ I know your self-enacted laws condemn 
me to a miserable fate ; but for these ignorant, confiding, 
faithful followers, I claim, nay, beg, entreat, implore your 
mercy ; they knew not what they did, and — ’ * 

4 4 Speak to these ! ’ * said the Rover, pointing with an 
averted eye, to the fierce knot by which he was surrounded ; 
“these are your judges, and the sole ministers of mercy.” 

Strong and nearly unconquerable disgust was apparent in 
the manner of the youth ; with a mighty effort he subdued 
it, and, turning to the crew continued, — 

“Then even to these will I humble myself in petitions. 
Ye are men, and ye are mariners — ” 

“ Away with him ! ” exclaimed the croaking Nightingale ; 
“he preaches! Away with him to the yard-arm!— 
away ! ’ ’ 

The shrill, long-drawn winding of the call which the cal- 
lous boatswain sounded in mockery, was answered by an 
echo from twenty voices, in which the accents of nearly as 
many different people mingled in hoarse discordancy, each 
shouting in turn, — 

“ To the yard-arm ! Away with the three ! — away ! ” 
Wilder made a last appeal to the Rover with his eye, but 
he met no look in return, the face of the other being inten- 
tionally averted. With a burning brain, he felt himself 
rudely transferred from the quarter-deck into the centre and 
less privileged portion of the ship. The violence of the pas- 
sage, the hurried reeving of cords, and all the fearful prepa- 
rations of a nautical execution, appeared but the business of 
a moment, to one who stood so near the verge of time. 

“ A yellow flag for punishment ! ” bawled the revengeful 
captain of the forecastle ; 44 let the gentleman sail on his last 
cruise under the rogue’s ensign ! “ 


443 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


“ A yellow flag ! a yellow flag ! ” echoed twenty brawling 
throats. “ Down with the Rover’s ensign, and up with the 
colors of the provost-marshal ! A yellow flag ! a yellow 
flag ! ” 

The hoarse laughter and mocking merriment with which 
this coarse device was received, stirred the ire of Fid, who 
had submitted in silence so far to the rude treatment he 
received, for no other reason than that he thought his supe- 
rior was the best qualified to utter the little which it might 
be necessary to say. 

“ Avast, ye villains ! ” he hotly exclaimed, prudence and 
moderation losing their influence under the excitement of 
anger; “ye cut-throat, lubberly villains! That ye are 
villains, is to be proved in your teeth, by your getting your 
sailing orders from the devil ; and that ye are lubbers, any 
man may see by the fashion in which you have rove this cord 
about my throat. A fine jam will ye make with a turn in 
your whip ! But ye ’ll all come to know how a man is to 
be decently hanged, ye rogues, ye will. Ye ’ll all come hon- 
estly by the knowledge, in your day, ye will ! ’ * 

“Clear the turn, and run him up!’’ shouted one, two, 
three voices, in hurried succession ; “a clear whip, and a 
swift run to heaven ! ” 

Happily, a fresh burst of riotous clamor from one of the 
hatchways interrupted the intention ; and then was heard 
the cry of, — 

‘ ‘ A priest ! a priest ! Pipe the rogues to prayers, before 
they take their dance on nothing ! ” 

The ferocious laughter, with which the freebooters re- 
ceived this sneering proposal, was hushed as suddenly as if 
One answered to their mockery from that mercy-seat whose 
power they so sacrilegiously braved. A deep, menacing 
voice was heard in their midst, saying, — 

“ By Heaven, if touch, or look, be laid too boldly on 
prisoner in this ship, he who offends had better beg the fate 
ye give these miserable men, than meet my anger. Stand 
off, I bid you, and let the chaplain approach ! ’’ 

Every bold hand was instantly withdrawn, and each pro- 
fane lip was closed in trembling silence, giving the terrified 


Ube IRefc IRover 


449 


and horror-stricken subject of their liberties room and 
opportunity to advance to the scene of punishment. 

“See,” said the Rover, calmly, but still with authority, 

‘ ‘ you are a minister of God, and your office is sacred char- 
ity. If you have aught to smooth the dying moment to 
fellow-mortal, haste to impart it ! ” 

“In what have these offended?” demanded the divine, 
when power was given to speak. 

“ No matter ; it is enough that their hour is near ! If 
you would lift your voice in prayer, fear nothing. The 
unusual sounds shall be welcome even here. Ay, and 
these miscreants, who so boldly surround you, shall kneel 
and be mute, as beings whose souls are touched by the holy 
rite. Scoffers shall be dumb, and unbelievers respectful at 
my beck. Speak freely ! ” 

“ Scourge of the seas ! ” commenced the chaplain, across 
whose pallid features a flash of holy excitement cast its glow, 
“remorseless violator of the laws of man! audacious con- 
temner of the mandates of your God ! a fearful retribution 
shall avenge this crime. Is it not enough that you have 
this day consigned so many to a sudden end, but your ven- 
geance must be glutted with more blood ? Beware the 
hour when these things shall be visited, in almighty power, 
on your own devoted head ! ” 

“ Look ! ” said the Rover, smiling, but with an expres- 
sion that was haggard, in spite of the unnatural exultation 
that struggled about his quivering lip; “ here are the evi- 
dences of the manner in which Heaven protects the right ! ’ ’ 
“ Though its awful justice be hidden in inscrutable wis- 
dom, for a time, deceive not thyself ; the hour is at hand 
when it shall be seen and felt in majesty ! ” The voice of 
the chaplain became suddenly choked ; for his wandering 
eye had fallen on the frowning countenance of Bignall, 
which, set in death, lay but half concealed beneath a flag 
which the Rover himself had cast upon the body. Then, 
summoning his energies, he continued in the clear and 
admonitory strain that befitted his sacred calling : They 

tell me you are but half lost to feeling for your kind ; and, 
though the seeds of better principles, of better days are 

29 


45 ° 


Ube iReb 1Ro\>er 


smothered in your heart, that they still exist, and might be 
quickened into goodly — ” 

‘ ‘ Peace ! You speak in vain. To your duty with these 
men, or be silent.” 

“ Is their doom sealed? ” 

“It is.” 

“ Who says it? ” demanded a low voice at the elbow of 
the Rover, which, coming upon his ear at that moment, 
thrilled upon his most latent nerve, chasing the blood from 
his cheek to the secret recesses of his frame. But the 
weakness passed away with the surprise, and he calmly, and 
almost instantly answered, — 

“ The law.” 

“The law!” repeated the governess. “Can they who 
set all order at defiance, who despise each human regulation, 
talk of law ? Say it is heartless vindictive vengeance, if you 
will ; but call it not by the sacred name of law. I wander 
from my object ! They have told me of this frightful scene, 
and I am come to offer ransom for the offenders. Name 
your price, and let it be worthy of the subject we redeem ; 
a grateful parent shall freely give it all for the preserver of 
his child.” 

“ If gold will purchase the lives you wish,” the other inter- 
rupted, with the swiftness of thought, “ it is here in hoards, 
and ready on the moment. What say my people ? Will 
they take ransom ? ’ ’ 

A brooding pause succeeded ; and then, a low, ominous 
murmur was raised in the throng, announcing their reluc- 
tance to dispense with vengeance. The glowing eye of the 
Rover scanned the fierce countenances by which he was en- 
vironed ; his lips moved with vehemence ; but, disdaining 
further intercession, nothing was uttered for the ear. Turn- 
ing to the divine, he added, with the forced composure of his 
wonderful manner, — 

“ Forget not your sacred office — time is leaving us.” He 
was then moving slowly aside, in imitation of the governess, 
who had already veiled her features from the revolting scene, 
when Wilder addressed him : — 

“ For the service you would have dope uje, from my soul 


Ube IRefc 1Ro\>er 


451 


I thank you,” he said. “ If you would know that I leave 
you in peace, give me yet one solemn assurance before I die.” 

“To what? ” 

“ Promise, that they who came with me into your ship 
shall leave it unharmed, and speedily.” 

“ Promise, Walter,” said a solemn, smothered voice in the 
throng. 

“Ido.” 

“ I ask no more. Now, reverend minister of God, per- 
form thy holy office, near my companions. Their ignorance 
may profit by your service. If I quit this bright and glori- 
ous scene, without thought of, and gratitude to that Being 
who, I humbly trust, has made me an heritor of still greater 
things, I offend willingly and without hope. But these may 
find consolation in your prayers. * ’ 

Amid an awful silence, the chaplain approached the de- 
voted companions of Wilder. Their comparative insignifi- 
cance had left them unobserved during most of the foregoing 
scene ; and material changes had occurred unheeded, in their 
situation. Fid was seated on the deck, his collar unbuttoned, 
his neck encircled with the cord, sustaining the head of the 
nearly helpless jj$ack, which he had placed, with singular 
tenderness and care, in his lap. 

“This man, at least, will disappoint the malice of his 
enemies,” said the divine, taking the hard hand of the 
negro into his own ; ‘ ‘ the termination of his wrongs and 
his degradation approaches ; he will soon be far beyond the 
reach of human injustice. Friend, by what name is your 
companion known ? ’ ’ 

“ It is little matter how you hail a dying man,” returned 
Richard, with a melancholy shake of the head. “ He has 
commonly been entered on the ship’s books as Scipio Africa, 
coming, as he did, from the coast of Guinea ; but, if you call 
him Si’p, he will not be slow to understand.” 

“ Has he known baptism ? Is he a Christian ? ” 

“ If he be not, I don’t know who the devil is ! ” responded 
Richard, with an asperity that might be deemed a little 
unseasonable. “ A man who serves his country, is true to 
his messmate, and has no skulk about him, I call a saint, so 


45 2 


XTbe 1 Reb IRorer 


far as mere religion goes. I say, Guinea, my hearty, give 
the chaplain a gripe of the fist, if you call yourself a Chris- 
tian. A Spanish windlass would not give a stronger screw 
than the knuckles of that nigger an hour ago ; and, now you 
see to what a giant may be brought ! ’ ’ 

“His latter moment is, indeed, near. Shall I offer a 
prayer for the health of the departing spirit ? ’ ’ 

“I don’t know, I don’t know !” answered Fid, gulping 
his words, and uttering a hem, that was still deep and pow- 
erful, as in the brightest and happiest of his days. ‘ ‘ When 
there is so little time given to a poor fellow to speak his 
mind in, it may be well to let him have a chance to do most 
of the talking. Something may come uppermost, which he 
would like to send to his friends in Africa ; in which case 
we may as well be looking out for a proper messenger. Hah ! 
what is it, boy? You see he is already trying to rouse 
something up out of his ideas.” 

“ Misser Fid — he’m take a collar,” said thejSlack, strug- 
gling for utterance. 

“ Ay, ay,” returned Richard, again clearing his throat, and 
looking to the right and left fiercely, seeking some object 
on which to wreak his vengeance. “Ay, ay, Guinea; put 
your mind at ease on that point, my hearty, and, for that 
matter, on all others. You shall have a grave as deep as 
the sea, and Christian burial, boy, if this here parson will 
stand by his work. Any small message you may have for 
your friends shall be logged, and put in the way of coming 
to their ears. You have had much foul weather in your 
time, Guinea, and some squalls have whistled about your 
head that might have been spared, mayhap, had your color 
been a shade or two lighter. For that matter it may be that 
I have rode you down a little too close myself, boy, when 
overheated with the conceit of the skin ; for all which may 
the Lord forgive me as freely as I hope you will do the same 
thing ! ” 

The^^gro made a fruitless effort to rise, endeavoring to 
grasp the hand of the other, saying, as he did so, — 

“ Misser Fid beg a pardon of a black man ! Masser aloft 
forget he’m all, Misser Richard, he t’ink ’em no more.” 


TTfoe IRefc IRover 


453 


“It will be what I call a d d generous thing, if he 

does, ’ ’ returned Richard, who.se sorrow and whose consci- 
ence had stirred up his uncouth feelings to an extraordinary 
degree. “ There ’s the affair of slipping off the wreck of 
the smuggler has never been properly settled atween us, 
neither ; and many other small services of like nature, for 
which, d’ ye see, I ’ll just thank you while there is oppor- 
tunity ; for no one can say whether we shall ever be borne 
again on the same ship’s books.” 

A feeble sign from his companion caused the top-man to 
pause, while he endeavored to construe its meaning as well 
as he was able. With a facility that was in some degree 
owing to the character of the individual, his construction of 
the other’s meaning was favorable to himself, as was quite 
evident by the manner in which he resumed, — 

“ Well, well, mayhap we may. I suppose they berth the 
people there in some such order as is done here below, in 
which case we may be put within hailing distance, after all. 
Our sailing orders are both signed ; though, as you seem 
likely to slip your cable before these thieves are ready to 
run me up, you will be getting the best of the wind. I shall 
not say much concerning any signals it may be necessary to 
show, in order to make one another out aloft, taking it for 
granted that you will not overlook Master Harry on account 
of the small advantage you may have in being the first to 
shove off, intending myself to keep as close as possible in his 
wake, which will give me the twofold advantage of knowing 
I am on the right track, and of falling in with you.” 

“ These are evil words, and fatal alike to your own future 
peace, and to that of your unfortunate friend,” interrupted 
the divine. “ His reliance must be placed on One, different 
in all his attributes from your officer, to follow whom, or to 
consult whose frail conduct, would be the height of madness. 
Place your faith in another — ” 

“ If I do, may I be — ” 

“Peace!” said Wilder; “the&ack would speak to 
me.” 

Scipio had turned his looks in the direction of his officer, 
and was making another feeble effort towards extending his 


454 


Ube IReb 1Rov>er 


hand. As Wilder placed his own within the grasp of that 
of the dying negro, the latter succeeded in laying it on his 
lips, and then, flourishing with a convulsive movement that 
Herculean arm which he had so lately and so successfully 
brandished in defence of his master, the limb stiffened and 
fell, though the eyes still continued their affectionate and 
glaring gaze on that countenance he had so long loved, and 
which, in the midst of all his long-endured wrongs, had 
never refused to meet his look of love in kindness. A low 
murmur followed this scene, and then complaints succeeded, 
in a louder strain, till more than one voice was heard, 
openly muttering its discontent that vengeance should be so 
long delayed. 

“Away with them!” shouted an ill-omened voice from 
the throng. “ Into the sea with the carcass, and up with 
the living.” 

‘ ‘ Avast ! ’ ’ burst out of the chest of Fid, with an awful- 
ness and depth that stayed even the daring movements of 
that lawless moment. “Who dare to cast a seaman into 
the brine, with the dying look standing in his lights, and his 
last words still in his messmate’s ears ? Ha ! would ye 
stopper the fins of a man as ye would pin a lobster’s claw? 
That for your fastenings and your lubberly knots together ! ” 
The excited top-man snapped the lines by which his elbows 
had been imperfectly secured, while speaking, and imme- 
diately lashed the body of the black to his own, though his 
words received no interruption from a process that was exe- 
cuted with a seaman’s dexterity. “ Where was the man in 
your lubberly crew that could lay upon a yard with this 
here black, or haul upon a lee-earing, while he held the 
weather line ? Could any one of ye all give up his rations, 
in order that a sick messmate might fare the better ! or 
work a double tide to spare the weak arm of a friend? 
Show me one who had as little dodge under fire as a sound 
mainmast, and I will show you all that is left of his better. 
And now sway upon your whip, and thank God that the 
honest end goes up, while the rogues are suffered to keep 
their footing for a time. ’ ’ 

“ Sway away ! ” echoed Nightingale, seconding his hoarse 


Ube IReb IRover 


455 


and ominous cry by the winding of his call ; “away with 
them to heaven ! * 9 

Hold ! ’ ’ exclaimed the chaplain, happily arresting the 
cord before it had yet done its fatal office. “ For His sake, 
whose mercy may one day be needed by the most hardened 
of ye all, give but another moment of time ! What mean 
these words ! Do I read aright ? ‘ Ark of Dynnhaven ’ ! ’ ’ 

“Ay, ay,” said Richard, loosening the rope a little, in 
order to speak with greater freedom, and transferring the 
last morsel of the weed from his box to his mouth, as he 
answered ; ‘ ‘ seeing you are an apt scholar, no wonder you 
make it out so easily, though written by a hand that was 
always better with a marlingspike than a quill. ’ ’ 

“ But whence came the words ? Why do you bear those 
names, thus written indelibly in the skin ! Patience, men ! 
monsters ; demons ! Would ye deprive the dying man of 
even a minute of that precious time which becomes so dear 
to all, as life is leaving us? ” 

“ Give yet another minute ! ” said a deep voice from be- 
hind. 

“ Whence come these words, I ask ! ” again the chaplain 
demanded. 

‘ ‘ They are neither more nor less than the manner in 
which a circumstance was logged, which is now of no con- 
sequence, seeing that the cruise is nearly up with all who 
are chiefly concerned. The black spoke of the collar ; but, 
then, he thought I might be staying in port, while he was 
drifting between heaven and earth, in search of his last 
moorings.” 

‘ 4 Is there aught, here, that I should know ? ’ ’ interrupted 
the eager, tremulous voice of Mrs. Wyllys. “ O, Merton ! 
why these questions? Has my yearning been prophetic? 
Does nature give so mysterious a warning of its claim ! ’ ’ 

“Hush, dearest madam! your thoughts wander from 
probabilities, and my faculties become confused. 4 The Ark 
of Tynnhaven ’ was the name of an estate in the islands, 
belonging to a near and dear friend, and it was the place 
w r here I received, and whence I sent to the main the pre" 
cious trust confided to my care. But — ” 


45 6 


Ube 1 Reb IRover 


“Say on!” she exclaimed, rushing madly in front of 
Wilder, and seizing the cord which, a moment before, had 
been tightened nearly to his destruction, stripping it from 
his throat with a sort of supernatural dexterity : “it was not 
then the name of a ship ? ” 

“A ship! surely not. But what mean these hopes? — 
these fears? ” 

“ The collar ! the collar ! speak ; what of that collar? ” 

“ It means no great things, now, my lady,” returned Fid, 
very coolly placing himself in the same condition as Wilder, 
by profiting by the liberty of his arms, and loosening his own 
neck from the halter, notwithstanding a movement made by 
some of the people to prevent it, which was, however, stayed 
by a look from their leader’s eyes. “ I will first cast loose 
this here rope ; seeing that it is neither decent, nor safe, for 
an ignorant man like me, to enter into such unknown navi- 
gation ahead of his officer. The collar was just the neck- 
lace of the dog, which is here to be seen on the arm of poor 
Guinea, who was, in most respects, a man for whose equal 
one might look long in vain.” 

“ Read it,” said the governess, a film passing before her 
own eyes ; “ read it,” she added, motioning with a quivering 
hand to the divine to peruse the inscription, that was dis- 
tinctly legible on the plate of brass. 

“ Holy Dispenser of good ! what is this I see ? ‘ Neptune, 

the property of Paul De Lacey ! ’ ” 

A loud cry burst from the lips of the governess ; her 
hands were clasped one single instant upward, in that 
thanksgiving which oppressed her soul, and then, as recol- 
lection returned, Wilder was pressed fondly, frantically to 
her bosom, while her voice was heard to say, in the piercing 
tones of all-powerful nature, — 

“ My child ! my child ! You will not — cannot — dare not 
rob a long-stricken and bereaved mother of her offspring ! 
Give me back my son, my noble son ! and I will weary 
Heaven with prayers in your behalf. Ye are brave, and 
cannot be deaf to mercy. Ye are men, who have lived in 
constant view of God’s majesty, and will not refuse to listen 
to this evidence of his pleasure. Give me my child, and I 


Ube IReb IRover 


457 


yield all else. He is of a race long honored upon the seas, 
and no mariner will be deaf to his claims. The widow of 

De Tacey, the daughter of , cries for mercy. Their 

united blood is in his veins, and it will not be spilt by you ! 
A mother bows herself to the dust before you, to ask mercy 
for her offspring. O ! give me my child ! my child ! ’ * 

As the words of the petitioner died upon the ear, a still- 
ness settled on the place, that might have been likened to 
the holy calm which the entrance of better feelings leaves 
upon the soul of the sinner. The grim freebooters regarded 
each other in doubt ; the workings of nature manifesting 
themselves even in their stem and hardened visages. Still, 
the desire for vengeance had got too firm a hold of their 
minds to be dispossessed at a word. The result would have 
been doubtful, had not one suddenly reappeared in their 
midst who never ordered in vain ; and who knew how to 
guide, to quell, or to mount and trample on their humors, as 
his own pleasure dictated. For half a minute, he looked 
around him, his eyes still following the circle which receded 
as he gazed, until even those longest accustomed to yield 
to his will began to wonder at the extraordinary aspect in 
which it was now exhibited. The gaze was wild and bewil- 
dered ; and the face pallid as that of the petitioning mother. 
Three times did the lips sever, before sound issued from the 
caverns of his chest ; then arose on the attentive ears of the 
breathless and listening crowd, a voice that seemed equally 
charged with inward emotion and high authority. With a 
haughty gesture of the hand, and a manner that was too 
well understood to be mistaken, he said — 

“Disperse! Ye know my justice; but ye know I will 
be obeyed. My pleasure shall be known to-morrow/’ 




CHAPTER XXXII. 

“ This is he ; 

Who hath upon him still that natural stamp 
It was wise nature’s end in the donation, 

To be his evidence now. ” 

Shakespeare. 

T HAT morrow came, and with it an entire change in 
the scene and character of our tale. The Dolphin 
and the Dart were sailing in amity, side by side ; 
the latter again bearing the ensign of England, 
and the former carrying a naked gaff. The inj uries of the 
gust and the combat had so far been repaired that, to a com- 
mon eye, each gallant vessel was again prepared equally to 
encounter the hazards of the ocean or of warfare. A long, 
blue, hazy streak, to the north, proclaimed the proximity of 
the land ; and some three or four light coasters of that region, 
which were sailing nigh, announced how little of hostility 
existed in the present purposes of the freebooters. 

What those designs were, however, still remained a secret 
buried in the bosom of the Rover alone. Doubt, wonder, 
and distrust were, each in its turn, to be traced in the fea- 
tures of his captives, and those of his own crew. Through- 
out the whole of the long night, which had succeeded the 
events of the important day just past, he had been pacing 
the poop in brooding silence. The little he had uttered 
was merely to direct the movements of the vessels ; and 
when any ventured, w T ith other design, to approach his 
person, a sign that none there dared disregard, secured him 
the solitude he wished. Once or twice, indeed, the boy 
Roderick was seen hovering at his elbow, but it was as a 
guardian spirit would be fancied to linger near the object 


Ube IReb 1Rov>er 


459 


of its care, unobtrusively, and, it might almost be added, 
invisible. When, however, the sun came burnished and 
glorious, out of the waters of the east, a gun was fired, to 
bring a coaster to the side of the Dolphin ; and then it 
seemed that the curtain was to be raised on the closing 
scene of the drama. With his crew assembled on the deck 
beneath, and the principal personages among his captives 
beside him on the poop, the Rover addressed the former : — 
“ Years have united us by a common fortune,” he said : 
“we have long been submissive to the same laws. If I 
have been prompt to punish, I have been ready to obey. 
You cannot charge me with injustice. But the covenant is 
now ended. I take back my pledge, and I return you your 
faiths. Nay, frown not — hesitate not — murmur not. 

The compact ceases, and our laws are ended. Such was 
the condition of the service. I give you 3^our liberty, and 
little do I claim in return. That you need have no grounds 
of reproach, I bestow my treasure. See,” he added, raising 
that bloody ensign with which he had so often braved the 
power of the nations, and exhibiting beneath it sacks of that 
metal which has so long governed the world ; “ see ! This 
was mine : it is now yours. It shall be put in yonder 
coaster ; there I leave you, to bestow it, yourselves, on 
those you may deem most worthy. Go : the land is near. 
Disperse, for your own sakes : nor hesitate ; for, without 
me, well do ye know that vessel of the king would be your 
master. The ship is already mine ; of all the rest, I claim 
these prisoners alone for my portion. Farewell ! ” 

Silent amazement succeeded this unlooked-for address. 
There was, indeed, for a moment, some disposition to rebel ; 
but the measures of the Rover had been too well taken for 
resistance. The Dart lay on their beam, with her people 
at their guns, matches lighted, and a heavy battery. Un- 
prepared, without a leader, and surprised, opposition would 
have been madness. The first astonishment had scarce 
abated, before each freebooter rushed to secure his individual 
effects, and to transfer them to the deck of the coaster. 
When all but the crew of a single boat had left the Dolphin, 
the promised gold was sent, and then the loaded craft was 


460 


XTbe IRefc IRover 


seen hastily seeking the shelter of some secret creek. Dur- 
ing this scene, the Rover had been silent as death. He 
next turned to Wilder ; and making a mighty but successful 
effort to still his feelings, he added, — 

“Now must we, too, part. I commend my wounded to 
your care. They are necessarily with your surgeons. I 
know the trust I give you will not be abused.” 

“ My word is the pledge of their safety,” returned the 
young De Lacey. 

“ I believe you. Lady,” he added, approaching the elder 
of the females, with an air in which earnestness and hesita- 
tion strongly contended, “ if a proscribed and guilty man 
may still address you, grant yet a favor.” 

“ Name it ; a mother’s ear can never be deaf to him who 
has spared her child. ’ ’ 

“When you petition Heaven for that child, forget not 
there is another being who may still profit by your prayers : 
no more. And now,” he continued, looking about him like 
one who was determined to be equal to the pang of the mo- 
ment, however difficult it might prove, and surveying, with 
an eye of painful regret, those naked decks which were so 
lately teeming with scenes of life and revelry ; ‘ ‘ and now — 
ay — now we part ! The boat awaits you.” 

Wilder soon saw his mother and Gertrude into the pin- 
nace ; but he still lingered himself. 

“ And you ! ” he said, “ what will become of you ? ” 

“ I shall shortly be — forgotten. Adieu ! ” 

The manner in which the Rover spoke forbade delay. 
The young man hesitated, squeezed his hand, and left him. 

When Wilder found himself restored to his proper vessel, 
of which the death of Bignall had left him in command, he 
immediately issued the order to fill her sails, and to steer for 
the nearest haven of his country. So long as sight could 
read the movements of the man who remained on the decks 
of the Dolphin, not a look was averted from the motionless 
object. She lay, with her main-top-sail to the mast, sta- 
tionary as some beautiful fabric placed there by fairy power, 
still lovely in her proportions, and perfect in all her parts. 
A human form was seen swiftly pacing her poop, and, by its 


Ubc lRe& iRovet 


461 


side, glided one who looked like a lessened shadow of that 
restless figure. At length distance swallowed these indis- 
tinct images ; and then the eye was wearied, in vain, to 
trace the internal movements of the distant ship. But doubt 
was soon ended. Suddenly a streak of flame flashed from 
her decks, springing fiercely from sail to sail. A vast cloud 
of smoke broke out of the hull, and the deadened roar of artil- 
lery followed. To this succeeded, for a time, the awful, and 
yet attractive spectacle of a burning ship. The whole was 
terminated by an immense canopy of smoke, and an explo- 
sion that caused the sails of the distant Dart to waver, as if 
the winds of the trades were deserting their eternal direction. 
When the cloud had lifted from the ocean, an empty waste 
of water was seen beneath ; and none might mark the spot 
where that beautiful specimen of human ingenuity had so 
lately floated. Some of those who ascended to the upper 
masts of the cruiser, and were aided by glasses, believed, 
indeed, that they could discern a solitary speck upon the 
sea ; but whether it was a boat, or some fragment of the 
wreck, was never known. 

From that time, the history of the dreaded Red Rover be- 
came lost in the fresher incidents of those eventful seas. But 
the mariner long after was known to shorten the watches of 
the night by recounting scenes of mad enterprise that were 
thought to have occurred under his auspices. Rumor did 
not fail to embellish and pervert them, until the real charac- 
ter, and even the name of the individual were confounded 
with the actors of other atrocities. Scenes of higher and 
more ennobling interest, too, were occurring on the Western 
Continent, to efface the circumstances of a legend that many 
deemed wild and improbable. The British colonies of North 
America had revolted against the government of the crown, 
and a weary war was bringing the contest to a successful 
issue. Newport, the opening scene of this tale, had been 
successively occupied by the arms of the king, and by those 
of that monarch who had sent the chivalry of his nation to 
aid in stripping his rival of her vast possessions. 

The beautiful haven had sheltered hostile fleets, and the 
peaceful villas had often rung with the merriment of youth- 


462 


Ube IRefc IRover 


ful soldiers. More than twenty years after the events just 
related had been added to the long record of time, when the 
island town witnessed the rejoicings of another festival, the 
allied forces had compelled the most enterprising leader of 
the British troops to yield himself and army captive to their 
numbers and skill. The struggle was believed to be over, 
and the worthy townsmen had, as usual, been loud in the 
manifestations of their pleasure. The rejoicings, however, 
ceased with the day ; and, as night gathered over the place, 
the little city was resuming its customary provincial tran- 
quillity. A gallant frigate, which lay in the very spot where 
the vessel of the Rover had first been seen, had already 
lowered the gay assemblage of friendly ensigns which had 
been spread in the usual order of a gala-day. A flag of 
intermingled colors, and bearing a constellation of bright 
and rising stars, alone was floating at her gaff. Just at this 
moment, another cruiser, but one of less magnitude, was 
seen entering the roadstead, bearing also the friendly ensign 
of the new States. Headed by the tide, and deserted by 
the breeze, she soon dropped an anchor, in the pass between 
Canonicut and Rhode, when a boat was seen making for 
the inner harbor, impelled by the arms of six powerful row- 
ers. As the barge approached a retired and lonely wharf, 
a solitary observer of its movements was enabled to see that 
it contained a curtained litter, and a single female form. 
Before the curiosity, which such a sight would be apt to 
create in the breast of one like the spectator mentioned, had 
time to exercise itself in conjectures, the oars were tossed, 
the boat had touched the piles, and, borne bj' the seamen, 
the litter, attended by the woman, stood before him. 

“ Tell me, I pray you,” said a voice, in whose tones grief 
and resignation were singularly combined, “if Captain 
Henry De Tacey, of the continental marine, has a residence 
in this town of Newport? ” 

“That has he,” answered the aged man, addressed by 
the female, “ that has he ; or as one might say, two ; since 
yonder frigate is no less his than the dwelling on the hill 
just by.” 

* ‘ Thou art too old to point us out the way ; but if grand' 


TLhc IRefc IRover 


463 

child, or idler of any sort, be near, here is silver to reward 
him.” 

“Lord help you, lady!” returned the other, casting an 
oblique glance at her appearance as a sort of salvo for the 
term, and pocketing the trifling piece she offered, with sin- 
gular care ; “ Lord help you, madam ! old though I am, 
and something worn down by hardships and marvellous 
adventures, both by sea and land, yet will I gladly do so 
small an office for one of your condition. Follow, and you 
shall see that your pilot is not altogether unused to the 
path.” 

The old man turned, and was leading the way off the 
wharf, even before he had completed the assurance of his 
boasted ability. The seamen and the female followed, the 
latter walking sorrowfully and in silence by the side of the 
litter. 

‘ ‘ If you have need of refreshment, ’ ’ said their guide, 
pointing over his shoulder, “yonder is a well-known inn, 
and one much frequented in its time by mariners. Neigh- 
bor Joram and the ‘ Foul Anchor ’ have had a reputation in 
their day, as well as the greatest warrior in the land ; and, 
though honest Joe is gathered in for the general harvest, the 
house stands as firm as the day he first entered it. A goodly 
end he made, and profitable is it to the weak-minded sinner 
to keep such an example before his eyes ! ” 

A smothered sound issued from the litter ; but, though the 
guide stopped to listen, it was succeeded by no other evidence 
of the character of its tenant. 

“The sick man is in suffering,” he resumed, “but bodily 
pain, and all afflictions which we suffer in the flesh, must 
have their allotted time. I have lived to see seven bloody 
and cruel wars, of which this, which now rages, is, I humbly 
trust, to be the last. Of the wonders which I witnessed, 
and the bodily dangers which I compassed in the sixth, eye 
hath never beheld, nor can tongue utter, their equal ! ’ ’ 

“ Time hath dealt hardly by you, friend,” meekly inter- 
rupted the female. “ This gold may add a few more com- 
fortable days to those that are already past.” 

The cripple, for their conductor was lame as well as aged, 


464 


Zhe IRefc IRover 


received the offering with gratitude, apparently too much 
occupied in estimating its amount, to give any more of his 
immediate attention to the discourse. In the deep silence 
that succeeded, the party reached the door of the villa they 
sought. 

It was now night ; the short twilight of the season having 
disappeared while the bearers of the litter were ascending 
the hill. A loud rap was given by the guide ; and then he 
was told that his services were no longer needed. 

“ I have seen much and hard service,” he replied, “ and 
well do I know that the prudent mariner does not dismiss 
the pilot until the ship is safely moored. Perhaps old 
Madam De Lacey is abroad, or the captain himself may 
not — ’ ’ 

“Knough; here is one who will answer all our ques- 
tions.” 

The portal was opened, and a man appeared on its thresh- 
old, holding a light. The appearance of the porter was not, 
however, of the most encouraging aspect. A certain air, 
which can neither be assumed nor gotten rid of, proclaimed 
him a son of the ocean, while a wooden limb, which served 
to prop a portion of his still square and athletic body, suf- 
ficiently proved he was one who had not attained the expe- 
rience of his hardy calling without some bodily risk. His 
countenance, as he held the light above his head, to scan the 
persons of those without, was dogmatic, scowling, and a 
little fierce. He was not long, however, in recognizing the 
cripple, of whom he unceremoniously demanded the object 
of what he was pleased to term “ such a night squall.” 

“ Here is a wounded mariner,” returned the female, with 
tones so tremulous that they instantly softened the heart of 
the nautical Cerberus, ‘ ‘ who is come to claim hospitality of 
a brother in the service, and shelter for the night. We 
would speak with Captain Henry De Lacey.” 

“Then you have struck soundings on the right coast, 
madam,” returned the tar, “ as Master Paul, here, will say 
in the name of his father, no less than in that of the sweet 
lady his mother ; not forgetting old madam his grandam, 
who is no fresh- water fish herself, for that matter.” 


XTbe IRefc 1Ro\>er 


465 


“ That he will,” said a fine manly youth of some seventeen 
years, who wore the attire of one who was already in train- 
ing for the seas, and who was looking curiously over the 
shoulder of the elderly seaman. “ I will acquaint my father 
of the visit, and, Richard, do you seek out a proper berth 
for our guests without delay.” 

This order, which was given with the air of one who had 
been accustomed to act for himself, and to speak with au- 
thority, was instantly obeyed. The apartment selected by 
Richard was the ordinary parlor of the dwelling. Here, in 
a few moments, the litter was deposited ; the bearers were 
then dismissed, and the female only was left, with its tenant 
and rude attendant, who had not hesitated to give them so 
frank a reception. The latter busied himself in trimming 
the lights, and in replenishing a bright wood fire, taking 
care, at the same time, that no unnecessary vacuum should 
occur in the discourse to render the brief interval, necessary 
for the appearance of his superiors, tedious. During this 
state of things an inner door was opened, the youth already 
named leading the way for the three principal personages of 
the mansion. 

First came a middle-aged, athletic man, in the naval un- 
dress of a captain of the new States. His look was calm and 
his step still firm, though time and exposure were beginning 
to sprinkle his head with gray. He wore one arm in a 
sling, a proof that his service was still recent ; on the other 
leaned a lady, in whose matronly mien, but still blooming 
cheek and bright eyes, were to be traced most of the ripened 
beauties of her sex. Behind them followed a third, a female 
also, whose step was less elastic, but whose person continued 
to exhibit the evidences of a peaceful evening to the troubled 
day of life. The three courteously saluted the stranger, 
delicately refraining from making any precipitate allusion to 
the motive of her visit. Their reserve seemed by no means 
unnecessary ; for by the manifest agitation which shook the 
shattered frame of one who appeared as much sinking with 
grief as infirmity, it was too apparent that the unknown lady 
needed a little time to collect her energies, and to arrange 
her thoughts. 

30 


4 66 


XTbe IRefc IRcwer 


She wept long and bitterly, as if alone ; nor did she essay 
to speak until further silence would have become suspicious. 
Then, drying her eyes, and with cheeks on which a bright 
hectic spot was seated, her voice was heard for the first 
time by her wondering hosts. 

“ You may deem this visit an intrusion,” she said ; “but 
one, whose will is my law, would be brought hither.” 

‘ ‘ Wherefore ? ’ ’ mildly asked the officer, observing that 
her voice was already choked. 

“ To die ! ” was the whispered, husky answer. 

A common start manifested the surprise of her auditors ; 
and then the gentleman arose, and approaching the litter, 
he gently drew aside a curtain, exposing its hitherto unseen 
tenant to the examination of all in the room. There was 
understanding in the look that met his gaze, though death 
was too plainly stamped on the lineaments of the wounded 
man. His eye alone seemed still to belong to earth ; for, 
while all around it appeared already to be sunk into the 
helplessness of the last stage of human debility, that was 
still bright, intelligent, and glowing— it might almost have 
been described as glaring. 

‘ ‘ Is there aught in which we can contribute to your com- 
fort, or to your wishes? ” asked Captain De Tacey, after a 
long and solemn pause, during which all around the litter 
had mournfully contemplated the sad spectacle of sinking 
mortality. 

The smile of the dying man was ghastly, though tender- 
ness and sorrow were singularly and fearfully combined in 
its expression. He answered not ; but his eyes wandered 
from face to face, until they became riveted, by a species of 
charm, on the countenance of the oldest of the two females. 
His gaze was met by a look as settled as his own ; so evi- 
dent was the sympathy which existed between the two, that 
it could not escape the observation of the spectators. 

“ Mother ! ” said the officer, with affectionate concern, 

“ my mother ! what troubles you ? ’ ’ 

“Henry — Gertrude,” answered the venerable parent, ex- 
tending her arms to her offspring, as if she asked support ; 

“ m Y children, your doors have been opened to one who has 


'Ube IRefc IRover 


467 


a claim to enter them. O ! it is in these terrible moments, 
when passion is asleep and our weakness most apparent, in 
these moments of debility and disease, that nature so 
strongly manifests its impression ! I see it all in that 
fading countenance, in those sunken features, where so 
little is left but the last lingering look of family and kin- 
dred ! ’ ’ 

“ Kindred ! ” exclaimed De Lacey. “ Of what affinity is 
our guest?” 

“A brother ! ” answered the lady, dropping her head on 
her bosom, as if she had proclaimed a degree of consanguin- 
ity which gave pain as well as pleasure. 

The stranger, too much overcome himself to speak, made 
a joyful gesture of assent ; but he never averted a gaze that 
seemed destined to maintain its direction so long as life 
should lend it intelligence. 

“A brother!” repeated her son, in unfeigned astonish- 
ment. “ I knew you had a brother ; but I had thought him 
dead a boy.” 

“’T was so I long believed, myself ; though frightful 
glimpses of the contrary have often beset me ; but now the 
truth is too plain, in that fading visage and those fallen fea- 
tures, to be misunderstood. Poverty and misfortune divided 
us. I suppose we thought each other dead.” 

Another feeble gesture proclaimed the assent of the 
wounded man. 

“ There is no further mystery. Henry, the stranger is thy 
uncle — my brother — once, my pupil ! ” 

“I could wish to see him under happier circumstances, ” 
returned the officer, with a seaman’s frankness ; but, as a 
kinsman, he is welcome. Poverty, at least, shall no longer 
divide you.” 

“Look, Henry— Gertrude ! ” added the mother, veiling 
her own eyes as she spoke, ‘ 1 that face is no stranger to you. 
See ye not the sad ruins of one ye both fear and love ? ” 

Wonder kept her children mute, though they looked until 
sight became confused, so long and intense was their exam- 
ination. Then a hollow sound which came from the chest 
of the stranger, caused them to start ; and, when his low 


4 68 


Zhc 1 Reft 1fto\>er 


but distinct enunciation reached their ears, doubt and per- 
plexity vanished. 

“Wilder,” he said, with an effort in which his utmost 
strength appeared exerted, ‘ ‘ I have come to ask the last 
office at your hands.” 

‘ ‘ Captain Heidegger ! ’ ’ exclaimed the officer. 

“The Red Rover!” murmured the younger Mrs. De 
Tacey, involuntarily recoiling a pace from the litter. 

‘ ‘ The Red Rover ! ’ ’ repeated her son, pressing nigher 
with ungovernable curiosity. 

“Laid by the heels at last!” bluntly observed Fid, 
stumping up towards the group, without relinquishing the 
tongs which he had kept in constant use, as an apology for 
remaining in the room. 

‘ ‘ I had long hid my repentance, and my shame, together, ’ ’ 
continued the dying man, when the momentary surprise had 
a little abated ; ‘ ‘ but this war drew me from my conceal- 
ment. Our country needed us both, and both has she had ! 
You have served as one who never offended might serve ; 
but a cause so holy was not to be tarnished by a name like 
mine. May the little I have done for good be remembered, 
when the world speaks of the evil of my hands ! Sister — 
mother — pardon.” 

“ May that God, who forms his creatures with such fear- 
ful natures, look mercifully on all our weaknesses ! ’ * ex- 
claimed the weeping Mrs. De Tacey, bowing to her knees, 
and lifting her hands and eyes to heaven. “ O, brother ! 
brother ! you have been trained in the holy mystery of your 
redemption, and need not now to be told on what Rock to 
place your hopes of pardon ! ” 

‘ * Had I never forgotten those precepts, my name would 
still be known with honor. But — Wilder ! ” he added, with 
startling energy, “ Wilder ! ” 

All eyes were eagerly bent on the speaker. His hand 
was holding a roll, on which he had been reposing, as on a 
pillow. With a supernatural effort, his form rose on the 
litter ; and, with both hands elevated above his head, he let 
fall before him that blazonry of intermingled stripes, with its 


tlbe Ifteb Iftcwer 469 

blue field of rising stars, a glow of high exultation illumining 
every feature of his face, as in his day of pride. 

“ Wilder ! ” he repeated, laughing hysterically, “ we have 
triumphed ! ’ ’ He fell backward, without motion, the exult- 
ing lineaments settling in the gloom of death, as shadows 
obscure the smiling brightness of the sun. 


THE END. 



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